<span style="color: #222222;">Government today said that paddy procurement has gained momentum during the ongoing Kharif Marketing Season showing an increase of 23 per cent over the last year. The Agriculture Ministry said, government continues to procure Kharif crops at its MSP from farmers as per MSP schemes. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Ministry said, over 144 lakh tonnes of paddy was procured till yesterday against the last year's corresponding purchase of around 117 lakh tonnes in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Kerala. Of the total procurement Punjab alone contributed more than 65 per cent. About 12 lakh 41 thousand farmers have already been benefitted with MSP value of Rs 27 thousand 298 crore.</span><br />''