Paddy procured from farmers is being loaded onto a lorry at the Direct Purchase Centre in Vairapalayam in Erode, Tamil Nadu, on Friday.
| Photo Credit: GOVARTHAN M.
With paddy harvesting commencing in the ayacut areas irrigated by the Kalingarayan Canal, the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation has opened a Direct Purchase Centre (DPC) at Vairapalayam in the city.
Water was released from the Kalingarayan Anicut at Kalingarayanpalayam in Bhavani into the canal for the first crop season to enable farming on 15,743 acres in three taluks of the district, for 120 days from June 16, 2025, to October 13, 2025. Paddy was widely cultivated on over 9,000 acres in the taluks of Erode, Modakkurichi, and Kodumudi, and harvesting began a week ago. The centre was opened at Vairapalayam on November 19 to procure paddy directly from farmers.
An official said that while the Grade ‘A’ variety of paddy is procured at a minimum support price of ₹2,545 per quintal, including an incentive of ₹156, the common variety is procured at ₹2,500 per quintal, with an incentive of ₹131. An e-procurement system is in place at the centre, which involves fingerprint registration of farmers, and payments are transferred directly to their bank accounts via Electronic Clearing Services (ECS). The official said around 1,000 gunny bags are procured every day from farmers in the area, and additional centres will be opened when harvesting commences in other ayacut areas.
Published – November 21, 2025 05:48 pm IST
