Punjab Crosses a Milestone in Paddy Procurement, Over 11 Lakh Farmers Paid MSP

By the time the paddy season tapered off this week, the Mann government had a milestone to showcase—one the administration is already touting as evidence of a procurement system finally running without the familiar creaks and delays. According to official data, as many as 11,31,270 farmers have received payments under Minimum Support Price (MSP) till November 12, a scale the state government is calling “historic”.

For a state where procurement is as much a political pressure point as an administrative exercise, the Mann government has been keen to underline that this season has been “smooth, disruption-free and transparent”. The Chief Minister’s office insists this was achieved through tighter coordination across procurement agencies, a firmer grip on logistics, and an early push to clear pending dues—areas that often draw farmers’ ire.

At the operational end of this chain is Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak, overseeing a process that moves grain from mandis to state agencies and beyond. His department, officials say, has been on a 24×7 clock since procurement opened. Patiala, with 96,920 farmers already paid MSP, has pulled ahead of other districts—an indicator, the government argues, of procurement stabilising even in high-volume zones.

By the evening of November 12, mandis across Punjab had logged a cumulative paddy arrival of 1,54,78,162.41 metric tonnes. Of this, 1,53,89,039.51 metric tonnes—a striking 99%—has already been procured. The lifting, often the Achilles heel of procurement seasons, has reached 1,41,09,483.18 metric tonnes, or 91% of what has been procured.

In plain terms, this means grain isn’t piling up in mandis, farmers aren’t waiting indeterminately for payments, and the state’s procurement machinery—routinely criticised for bottlenecks—is, for once, delivering ahead of the curve.

Whether this efficiency holds when procurement shifts to other crops, or when the political contestations around MSP return to centre stage, remains to be seen. For now, though, the numbers offer the Mann government a breather—and a talking point.