New Delhi, Dec 1 : Amidst the farmers' agitation, the Central government has procured more paddy on MSP than the last years, with purchase of over 318.00 LMTs of paddy up to November 30, an official statement said on Tuesday. The purchase during the same period last year was of 268.15 LMT which shows an increase of 18.58 per cent over last year. Out of the total, Punjab alone has contributed 202.77 LMT which is 63.76 per cent of total procurement. The government has continued to procure Kharif 2020-21 crops at its MSP from farmers as per the existing schemes. Paddy procurement for Kharif 2020-21 is continuing smoothly in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Maharashtra, the statement said, Based on the proposal from the states, approval was accorded for procurement of 45.24 LMT of pulse and oilseeds of Kharif marketing season 2020 for the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh under the Price Support Scheme (PSS). Sanction for procurement of 1.23 LMT of copra (the perennial crop) for Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala was also given. For other states/UTs, approval will also be accorded on receipt of proposals for procurement of pulses, oilseeds and copra under PSS so that procurement of FAQ grade of these crops can be made at notified MSP for the year 2020-21 directly from the registered farmers, if the market rate goes below MSP during the notified harvesting period in the respective states/UTs by the Central Nodal Agencies through state nominated procuring agencies. Till November 30, the government, through its nodal agencies, has procured 104,546.68 MT of moong, urad, groundnut pods and soyabean having MSP value of Rs 563.43 crore benefitting 60,107 farmers in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana and Rajasthan. Similarly, 5,089 MT of copra, having MSP value of Rs 52.40 crore, has been procured benefitting 3,961 farmers in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu upto November 30, as against the last year's corresponding purchase of 293.34 MT of copra. In respect of copra and urad, rates are ruling above MSP in most of the major producing states. The respective state/UT governments are making necessary arrangements for commencement of procurement from the date as decided by the respective states based on the arrivals in respect of kharif pulses and oilseeds. /IANS