Some political parties are trying to spread confusion about the new farm laws and they are associated with middlemen, says Piyush Goyal
New Delhi: Union Consumer Affairs and Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said that some parties in the country were trying to play politics with regard to the new agricultural laws.
Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Goyal said, ‘Some political parties are trying to spread confusion about the new farm laws and they are associated with middlemen’. He said that the government will never let this attempt succeed.
The Union Minister said the government has made proper arrangements for the procurement of crops at the minimum support price. Till Thursday, 188 lakh tonnes of paddy has been procured at the minimum support price, he said. He added that, by this time last year, 151 lakh tonnes of paddy had been procured.
‘This year, 1.57 crore farmers are going to get the benefit from the procurement of paddy. This year, 26 percent more farmers will get the benefit from the previous year,’ the Union Minister said. This year, the target is to procure 1.50 crore tonnes of paddy.
Last year, 1.40 crore tonnes of paddy was procured. This time, the procurement of paddy will increase by about 21 percent, as compared to the previous year, he added.
He said that 95 lakh tonnes of paddy has been procured in Punjab this year. This time, 37 percent more paddy has been procured in Punjab than last year.
Similarly, four lakh tonnes have been procured in Uttarakhand, four lakh tonnes in Uttar Pradesh, and 3.5 lakh tonnes of paddy in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Goyal further said. This time, the procurement of paddy was started from September 26, which was ahead of schedule, he added.