Tamil Nadu procures over 6,000 tons of finger millet in three years

10-Nov-2025 04:46 PM

Chennai. The Tamil Nadu Food and Civil Supplies Minister stated that the state government procured 6,453 tons of finger millet from farmers at the minimum support price (MSP) over the past three years, from the 2022-23 to 2024-25 marketing seasons, and paid ₹26.48 crore to the farming community. According to the Food Minister, under its decentralized procurement scheme,

the state government decided to begin procuring finger millet from farmers in the 2022-23 marketing season, initially covering farmers in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts. Subsequently, it was decided to expand the scheme to districts such as Salem and Erode starting in the 2024-25 marketing season.

An official release stated that during the 2024-25 marketing season, a combined 4050 tonnes of ragi was procured in the four districts mentioned above - Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Erode and Salem, while the remaining stock was already procured in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.

From the 2022-23 to 2024-25 seasons, 6453 tonnes of ragi worth Rs 26.48 crore was procured from 3578 farmers in Tamil Nadu, providing significant relief to growers.

For the 2025-26 marketing season, it has been decided to procure ragi from farmers in Tamil Nadu at the rate of Rs 48,860 per tonne, which is significantly higher than the price fixed for the previous season at Rs 42,900 per tonne.

Approval has already been issued to the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation to purchase 6,000 tons of ragi directly from farmers in the districts of the four states mentioned above at a rate of ₹48,860 per ton.

The procurement process began on November 1, 2025, and will continue until January 31, 2026. Farmers are advised to take full advantage of this scheme.