UP aims to buy record 65 lakh tonnes of paddy, promises payment within 48 hours

Uttar Pradesh has set itself a target of buying 65 lakh metric tonnes of paddy from farmers in the 2026-27 kharif marketing season, the highest in the state's history, according to reports published on October 13, 2026. The state government says it will run about 4,500 purchase centres through eight government agencies and has promised that farmers will be paid within 48 hours of selling their crop. Buying is opening in the western divisions of the state in mid-October, while centres in eastern Uttar Pradesh will open on November 1.

Uttar Pradesh is one of India's biggest rice-growing states, and paddy is the main kharif cash crop for lakhs of small farmers in the Terai belt, the west and the east of the state. When the government does not buy enough, or buys late, farmers are often forced to sell to private traders below the MSP to repay loans and prepare fields for wheat sowing. A larger target and more centres are meant to narrow that gap.

The 48-hour payment promise matters as much as the price. In earlier seasons, delays in payment pushed farmers to accept lower private offers because they needed cash immediately. Direct bank transfers through the government's payment system also cut the role of middlemen. Linking registration to AgriStack, the national digital record of farmers and their land, should make it harder for traders to sell other people's paddy at the MSP using borrowed identities, a problem officials in several states have flagged.

The split calendar reflects how the harvest moves across the state. Paddy in the western districts is ready earlier, so centres there open first, while the eastern districts, where much of the crop is harvested later, open in November. Punjab and Haryana have already been buying for weeks, and both have faced complaints this month about slow lifting of stocks from mandis and rain-soaked grain. How quickly Uttar Pradesh moves paddy out of its centres to mills and storage will decide whether its larger target turns into real purchases.

Short-term: Farmers in western districts can start selling at the MSP of Rs 2,441 a quintal this month, which should put a floor under prices in local mandis during the harvest rush.

Long-term: If the state actually buys close to 65 lakh tonnes and pays on time, more farmers will rely on government centres rather than private traders, and the AgriStack link will build a cleaner record of who grows what.

Who is affected: Paddy farmers across Uttar Pradesh, rice millers who process government paddy, commission agents and private traders, and the state's food and civil supplies agencies that run the centres.

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