Bhubaneswar: Women self-help groups (WSHGs) have procured paddy worth Rs 1010.14 crore during financial year 2019-20.
As many as 199 women SHGs in 11 districts have procured 23.07 lakh quintals of paddy amounting to Rs 419 crore during Kharif 2019-20. They have earned commission worth Rs 7.2 crore, official sources said.
Similarly, 113 WSHGs were engaged in paddy procurement in 112 gram panchayats of eight districts during Rabi 2019-20. They have procured 17.58 lakh quintal paddy amounting to Rs 319 crore generating commission of Rs 5.49 crore. So, cumulatively the WSHGs earned Rs 12.69-crore commission during the Kharif and Rabi seasons.
Currently, 223 WSHGs are undertaking online registration of farmers for paddy procurement for Kharif 2020-21. So far, 312 such groups from 11 districts have been involved in the procurement process. They procured 43.12 lakh quintals of paddy amounting to Rs 781.26 crore and got Rs 13.46 crore as their commission, the source said.
In May last year, the State Cabinet had decided to tie up women WSHGs with different departments for provisioning of government services and procurement in a structured manner amounting to Rs 5,000 crore over a period of five years.
In pilot phase, 17 WSHGs of Kalahandi district have been engaged in the practice during 2018-19 Rabi season and earned Rs 77.25 lakh commission.
After that the Women and Child Development department is planning to engage more number of women in the business.