Gandhinagar, March 22 (IANS) The Gujarat government will begin procuring gram and rapeseed at minimum support prices (MSP) across the state from March 23, with arrangements put in place to cover more than 2.96 lakh registered farmers, Agriculture Minister Jitu Vaghani said on Sunday.

The procurement exercise, aimed at ensuring farmers receive remunerative prices for their produce, will be carried out through a network of designated centres established based on registration data, sowing area, and expected output.

A total of 165 centres have been set up for gram procurement and 60 for rapeseed.

According to the minister, more than 2.59 lakh farmers have registered to sell gram, while over 37,000 farmers have enrolled for rapeseed procurement this season.

He said that adequate quantities would be purchased from all registered farmers.

“All advance planning for the procurement process has been completed under the guidance of the Chief Minister,” Vaghani said, adding that sufficient arrangements have been made across the state to facilitate farmers.

The government has introduced additional measures this year to ease the process and improve transparency.

For the first time, Aadhaar-enabled biometric or face authentication will be used to verify farmers at procurement centres, with the aim of ensuring that only registered beneficiaries take part in the sale.

In cases where a farmer is unable to be present due to unavoidable circumstances, a nominee authorised by the farmer will be permitted to complete the transaction on their behalf.

“To manage crowds and maintain order at procurement centres, farmers will be informed in advance via SMS about their designated date and time for bringing produce,” officials said.

Officials have further urged farmers to adhere to the scheduled timings to ensure smooth operations.

The procurement drive is expected to run across multiple districts, with the state government relying on the registration-based system to regulate arrivals, avoid congestion at centres, and maintain oversight of the process.

–IANS

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