23 Years of Paddy Procurement at Support Prices, Yet Farmers Continue to Wait for a Stable, Simple and Transparent System
Published on: September 22, 2026
By: BTNI
Location: Rajnandgaon, India
Paddy procurement at support prices is not a new system in Chhattisgarh. Since the early years of the state’s formation, paddy procurement has remained an important issue for the rural economy and state politics. The system received significant attention even during the tenure of the state’s first Chief Minister, Ajit Jogi, and continued to expand after 2003.
But the question remains: Why, even after nearly two and a half decades, has a permanent system not been created under which farmers do not have to struggle with new rules, fresh registrations and new technical procedures every year?
With every Kharif season, one or another new provision comes into effect. For the Kharif Marketing Year 2026-27, registration of co-account holders of farmers’ land on AgriStack has been made mandatory.
The farmer’s Farmer ID, linking of the concerned khasras and the paddy acreage recorded through the Digital Crop Survey have been linked with the procurement process. The deadline for registration and amendments has been fixed as October 31.
On paper, the objective of these arrangements is to increase transparency, identify genuine farmers and prevent fraud. But the ground-level question goes further: Does every new rule actually prevent corruption and irregularities, or does it simply make the process more complicated?
Does the Farmer Need to Understand Rules or Grow Paddy?
For a farmer, completing multiple procedures relating to land, khasra, mutation, partition, inheritance, bank accounts, nominees, Farmer ID, khasra mapping and Digital Crop Survey within the stipulated time is not an easy task.
New farmers are required to provide details related to their land, khasra, bank account and nominee at the concerned cooperative society or procurement centre after registration.
There are separate procedures for farmers cultivating land on sharecropping, Adhiya, Reghha and lease arrangements. Separate provisions also exist for forest-rights title holders, government lessees and other categories.
The system may certainly be becoming more digital, but whether the process has become simpler or more complicated for farmers is a question that the farmer standing in the field can answer better.
The Real Question Is About Preventing Corruption
Complaints of corruption and allegations of irregularities in paddy procurement have surfaced from time to time.
Therefore, along with changing the rules every year, the government should also explain how many irregularities were prevented by the rules introduced in previous years, how many cases were detected and how many people found responsible were proceeded against.
If several levels are created in the system—from the cooperative society and procurement centre to nodal officers, inspection teams and district administration—then accountability at each level should also be clearly defined.
What are monitoring committees actually examining?
In how many cases do nodal officers take action?
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How many fraudulent cases have been detected through monitoring at the Collector level?
And most importantly, when a complaint of illegal collection of money is received at any level between the farmer and the procurement centre, what is the outcome?
These questions require public answers supported by data.
Not a New Rule Every Year, But a Permanent Policy
Governments change and officials change, but the problems surrounding paddy procurement remain.
At times, the registration process changes; at other times, acreage verification, biometric systems, digital surveys and now mandatory AgriStack requirements are introduced.
There is nothing wrong with using technology. If implemented properly, technology can help prevent fraud. The government itself is linking biometric-based procurement and Digital Crop Survey with transparency this year.
But technology will succeed only when it increases convenience for farmers and closes avenues for middlemen and corruption.
Direct Questions for the Government
Paddy procurement has been taking place in Chhattisgarh for years. Therefore, the government now needs to go beyond simply explaining what the new rule for the current year is.
The government should explain:
- What problem existed with the previous rule?
- Why has the new rule been introduced?
- What convenience will it provide to farmers?
- What concrete provision has been made to prevent corruption?
- Within how much time will complaints be resolved?
- What action will be taken against an official or cooperative society office-bearer found responsible?
- Will another new rule have to be introduced next year?
This is the real test.
Farmers Need a Simple and Reliable Procurement System
Farmers need a system under which they can bring their crop to a procurement centre without worrying that the purchase of their produce could be stopped because of a document, a portal, a khasra record or a technical error.
After 23 years, if the paddy procurement system is still looking for new experiments every year, the question should not simply be what the next rule will be.
The larger question should be: When will a permanent, simple, transparent and accountable system be established that does not need to be changed repeatedly?
Because farmers do not need a maze of rules. They need a reliable price for the crop produced through their hard work and a simple procurement system.
