With Punjab preparing for another crucial paddy procurement season, the Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has approved three separate policy frameworks covering custom milling, foodgrain transportation, and labour and cartage arrangements for Kharif Marketing Season 2026-27.
The decisions are significant for Punjab because the paddy procurement operation involves not only farmers and government agencies, but also rice millers, commission agents, transporters, labourers and storage facilities. Any disruption in one part of the chain can quickly affect the entire procurement process.
The Mann government has said that the objective is to ensure that farmers do not face unnecessary delays in the purchase and lifting of their produce. The Cabinet reiterated its commitment to lifting every grain of paddy offered by farmers during the coming season.
The three policies approved by the Cabinet are the Punjab Custom Milling Policy for Kharif 2026-27, the Punjab Foodgrains Transportation Policy 2027 and the Punjab Foodgrains Labour & Cartage Policy 2027.
The custom milling policy is particularly important because the movement of paddy from mandis to rice mills and the subsequent delivery of custom-milled rice to government agencies is a critical component of Punjab’s procurement system. The state has already been facing concerns over storage availability and the movement of foodgrains from Punjab, making efficient coordination between procurement agencies and rice mills particularly important.
The Cabinet has also authorised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to make changes to provisions of the approved policies if administrative requirements arise during the procurement season. This gives the government some flexibility to respond to operational problems without having to return to the Cabinet for every procedural adjustment.
For Mann, the procurement exercise carries both an administrative and political significance. Punjab’s rural economy remains closely linked to paddy procurement, and the state’s performance during the procurement season is judged directly by farmers on issues such as timely procurement, payment, lifting, transportation and availability of storage.
The government is therefore attempting to enter the 2026-27 season with the policy architecture in place rather than responding to bottlenecks after procurement has already begun.
The challenge, however, will be implementation. The success of the Cabinet’s decision will ultimately depend on timely lifting, adequate storage, availability of transport and labour, coordination with rice millers and the smooth movement of foodgrains beyond Punjab.
For the Mann government, the message from the Cabinet decision is clear: procurement is being treated as a priority area, with the Chief Minister retaining the authority to make mid-season adjustments if circumstances demand them.
