State Food & Supplies minister Jyotipriya Mallick said on Monday that his department has set a target of purchasing 52 lakh metric tonne of paddy for the year 2018 and will start the process of purchasing paddy right from Nov 1. The price for paddy per quintal has been pegged at Rs 1,550 and the state government will provide an additional stipend of Rs 20 per quintal to encourage farmers to sell paddy directly to the government or through the cooperative societies in the state. The state government will spend Rs 200 crore annually for this additional farmer stipend. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has instructed us to take all possible measures to ensure that there is no distress sale. Around 36.35 lakh metric tonne will be converted into rice and the rest will be kept for emergency purposes in case of any natural calamity or disaster. The procurement process will be done through 341 central purchasing centres that has been set up across the districts in the state. A farmer can sell a maximum of 90 quintals of paddy directly to the government and will quickly get the money credited to his bank account through NEFT transfer.