Bhubaneswar: The State of Odisha has achieved a monumental milestone in its agrarian sector by officially concluding its Rabi paddy procurement for the 2025-26 marketing year, completely outperforming its state-mandated targets.
Proving its structural strength as an elite rice-surplus state, Odisha wrapped up the recent Rabi cycle by collecting a final total of 20.75 lakh metric tonnes of paddy. This dramatic late-season surge cleared the initial target of 20 lakh metric tonnes, driven by a crucial deadline extension to July 3 that ensured every single grain held by the farming community across vulnerable districts was securely lifted.
The flawless execution of this massive logistical operation is credited to robust administrative leadership and state-wide technological checks. Shri Sanjay Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary of the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department, diligently monitored the entire operations, leaving no stone unturned.
Under his close supervision, the department enforced strict transparency parameters, including absolute iris-based biometric verification, satellite validation of agricultural land to block out middleman exploitation, 100 percent electronic Know Your Customer implementation, and 24-hour centralized monitoring at over 3,100 collection points.
This rigorous operational oversight explains why Chief Minister Shri Mohan Charan Majhi trusted him and backed his move to help the farmers community in an agrarian state like Odisha.
The unwavering administrative backing from the Chief Minister allowed the department to execute timely field interventions, expand mandi amenities, double rice milling charges to accelerate grain lifting, and prolong the final collection dates to support marginal farmers.
Backed by high level coordination and robust public trust, the 2025-26 season concluded with record-breaking farmer registrations, with over 18.55 lakh farmers successfully liquidating their yields through official channels and securing an unprecedented victory for sustainable agricultural governance in Odisha.
This performance highlights a major multi-year success story for the state. Over the last three marketing years, Odisha’s procurement infrastructure has undergone an aggressive upward transformation.
In the 2023-24 cycle, Rabi paddy collection stood at 8.73 lakh metric tonnes, which steadily expanded into the 2024-25 season as the state adjusted its strategies to hit approximately 14 lakh metric tonnes.
By surging past 20.75 lakh metric tonnes in the current 2025-26 season, the state has more than doubled its Rabi procurement volume in just a two-year window.
When combined with the historic 76.84 lakh metric tonnes of paddy collected during the preceding Kharif cycle, Odisha’s total annual paddy procurement for the full year reached an unprecedented 97.59 lakh metric tonnes, entirely surpassing the overall seasonal expectation of 93 lakh metric tonnes.
The physical volume achievements are directly matched by massive financial inflows reaching the grass roots of the state’s rural economy.
Through the strategic implementation of the Samrudha Krushak Yojana, the state government offered a highly lucrative payment model by combining the central Minimum Support Price of 2,369 rupees per quintal with a state-funded input assistance bonus of 731 rupees per quintal.
This model guaranteed an effective payout of 3,100 rupees per quintal for the cultivators, which was disbursed seamlessly via direct benefit transfers into their bank accounts.