FCI to make direct payment to farmers

To bring transparency into procurement process, FCI will start making direct payment to farmers for their produce in the coming paddy season:

Food Corporation of India (FCI) has decided to make direct payment to farmers for their produce in the coming paddy lifting season to bring more transparency in procurement process. Farmers will be paid directly by FCI for their produce in Punjab which it will lift from farmers in the ensuing paddy lifting season.

The payment of Minimum Support Price (MSP) or bonus declared by the Centre on the paddy crop will be made through e-payment mode or online to farmers. If farmers do not have any bank account to avail e-payment facility, then FCI will issue account payee cheque in the name of farmer for disbursing the payment. The new decision will also be applicable in several states including Uttarakhand, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and north-east.

Under the current payment system in Punjab, FCI issues cheques to commission agents better known as 'Arthiyas' and thereafter the commission agents make payment to farmers in return of crop purchase.

However, the new decision of FCI will be applicable only on crop procurement made by it not on lifting made by state-owned procurement agencies, a senior FCI official clarified.

FCI is in the process of getting details of farmers from the state authorities to identify them for making payment. "The modalities are being worked out and we have also asked the authorities to provide us the details of farmers in order to implement the new decision," he said.