The Centre has set a paddy procurement target of 708.64 lakh tonne (LMT) for the 2026-27 Kharif Marketing Season (KMS), which begins on October 1. The newly announced target is lower than the actual procurement levels recorded in each of the previous three seasons.
The target was finalised during a review meeting with state food secretaries, chaired by Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra. According to the Food Ministry, the estimates were fixed following deliberations with states and union territories.
By comparison, actual kharif paddy procurement had reached 720.74 lakh tonne as of August 5 this year. Full-season procurement stood at 708.85 lakh tonne in 2024-25 and 689.56 lakh tonne in 2023-24, official data shows.
The scaled-down procurement target reflects a contraction in the paddy-sown area, which stood at 414.10 lakh hectare as of August 31, compared to 428.46 lakh hectare during the same period a year earlier, according to Agriculture Ministry figures. Kharif paddy production for 2025-26 is estimated at 123.92 million tonne based on the second advance estimate.
While the lower acreage points to a conservative target, actual procurement outcomes will depend on crop yields, state-level procurement operations, market arrivals, and the volume of paddy sold through government agencies.
Alongside the procurement targets, the meeting cleared the rollout of 'Improved Rice' under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) and other welfare schemes, alongside tighter norms for broken grains. Raw rice procured will now permit up to 10 per cent broken grains, down from the existing 25 per cent specification. Parboiled rice will have a cap of 5 per cent broken grains, compared to 16 per cent previously. The new norms take effect from KMS 2026-27 and will be implemented in phases across procuring states.
For coarse grains, states have estimated a procurement target of 18.85 lakh tonne for KMS 2026-27 (Kharif), building on the 16.38 lakh tonne procured in 2025-26, which marked a five-year high.
Secretary Sanjeev Chopra also reviewed the new Storage Policy, which outlines 131 lakh tonne of additional storage capacity—comprising 111 lakh tonne by states and 20 lakh tonne by the Food Corporation of India (FCI)—to address mismatches between procurement and offtake. States have been directed to onboard warehouses onto the Depot Darpan portal and submit time-bound action plans.
On the technology front, the Vehicle Location Tracking System (VLTS) for GPS-based tracking of foodgrain movement within the Public Distribution System supply chain is scheduled for completion by December 2026, with select states targeted for September 2026. Furthermore, a procurement optimisation tool has been rolled out in Punjab and Haryana, with other states required to update procurement centre, mill, and warehouse data by September 15, 2026.
During the meeting, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka, and Chhattisgarh were recognised for best practices in Improved Rice implementation, Joint Physical Verification, PCSAP performance, Shree Anna procurement, and AgriStack adoption respectively.
"The adjustment in the paddy procurement target for KMS 2026-27 illustrates how agricultural inputs and acreage directly impact government food management planning. By lowering the target in response to a contraction in sown area, policymakers are aligning expectations with ground realities. Additionally, the tightening of broken-grain norms and the focus on digital tracking systems and upgraded storage infrastructure indicate a structural shift toward efficiency and quality control in the supply chain." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes
Recommended Reading
Recent StartupLanes Articles
Browse through our 30 latest publications on venture capital, startups, and angel investing.