West Bengal government has procured 7.52 lakh metric tonne of paddy till February 24, according to Jyotipriyo Mallick, state food and supplies minister.
The minister said the government had procured 38.59 lakh metric tonne of paddy in Kharif marketing season (KMS) of 2015-16. Altogether 328 centralised procurement centres have been set up in the state. He said the state government would meet the procurement target ahead of its schedule, adding that 18 lakh farming families were benefited in the last KMS. In 2017 so far, he said 3.2 lakh farmer have sold paddy.
The food and supplies department along with health and family welfare department jointly run a programme to combat malnutrition. Nearly 4,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) identified by the Health department, are unit wise (mother and SAM child) being provided 5 kg rice, 2 kg wheat, 1 kg mysore dal and 1kg Bengal gram per month free of cost for six months. Introduced in October 2014, the project has been very effective, the minister said.
The state government had earlier earmarked Rs 5,020 crore to implement Khadya Sathi programme. The department has set up model fair price shops (FPS), run by self help groups in six closed tea gardens in the first phase. In 2016-17, a project to construct 126 FPS in 86 tea gardens has been taken up to ensure availability of food grains to the beneficiaries.
The minister said the government had procured 38.59 lakh metric tonne of paddy in Kharif marketing season (KMS) of 2015-16. Altogether 328 centralised procurement centres have been set up in the state. He said the state government would meet the procurement target ahead of its schedule, adding that 18 lakh farming families were benefited in the last KMS. In 2017 so far, he said 3.2 lakh farmer have sold paddy.
The food and supplies department along with health and family welfare department jointly run a programme to combat malnutrition. Nearly 4,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) identified by the Health department, are unit wise (mother and SAM child) being provided 5 kg rice, 2 kg wheat, 1 kg mysore dal and 1kg Bengal gram per month free of cost for six months. Introduced in October 2014, the project has been very effective, the minister said.
The state government had earlier earmarked Rs 5,020 crore to implement Khadya Sathi programme. The department has set up model fair price shops (FPS), run by self help groups in six closed tea gardens in the first phase. In 2016-17, a project to construct 126 FPS in 86 tea gardens has been taken up to ensure availability of food grains to the beneficiaries.