The Gujarat State Civil Supplies Corporation has introduced AI grain analysers to evaluate paddy quality across 10 procurement centres in four districts. Implemented during the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2025-26, this pilot project is designed to make crop purchases under the Minimum Support Price (MSP) scheme more transparent, consistent, and scientifically precise for farmers across the state.
Pilot Results from AI-Based Paddy Quality Assessment
During the pilot rollout, the state recorded a total of 13,334 farmer registrations across the designated centres. A total of 6,191 paddy samples were subsequently tested and graded using the artificial intelligence systems.
The AI-driven quality grading yielded the following breakdown:
- Grade-A Classification: 3,379 samples (54.6 per cent of tested stock)
- Common Classification: 2,812 samples (45.4 per cent of tested stock)
- Rejected Samples: 341 samples failed to meet standard norms
Among the participating centres, Dholka recorded the highest rejection rate at 24 per cent, whereas Viramgam registered zero sample rejections.
Centres and Districts Covered Under the Pilot
The pilot testing was deployed across 10 key procurement centres located in Ahmedabad, Mahisagar, Anand, and Panchmahal districts. Registrations were highest at Khambhat with 2,663 farmers, followed closely by Lunawada with 2,278 registrations.
The 10 procurement locations include:
- Mahisagar District: Lunawada and Santrampur
- Anand District: Khambhat and Borsad
- Ahmedabad District: Dholka, Bavla, Viramgam, and Sanand
- Panchmahal District: Godhra and Shehera
How AI Grain Analysers Evaluate Crop Quality
The newly deployed AI grain analysers assess paddy samples against multiple critical quality parameters, including moisture content, foreign matter, damaged or discoloured grains, immature or shrunken grains, and crop admixture. The automated system operates with one designated operator and requires an uninterrupted supply of electricity at each procurement centre.
By comparison, the Corporation's existing third-party grading process requires two personnel to collect samples and conduct grading using scientific equipment, which can also function when electricity is unavailable.
Procurement Framework and Quality Control Standards
As the state's nodal agency, the Gujarat State Civil Supplies Corporation procures notified commodities under the MSP mechanism whenever open market prices drop below government-mandated support levels. Currently, the state procures paddy, wheat, maize, bajra, jowar, and ragi through designated survey and grading agencies.
Procurement of wheat and rice adheres to Food Corporation of India (FCI) standards, while other MSP grains follow the Uniform Specifications prescribed by the Central Government. Beyond farmgate procurement, the Corporation oversees the supply and distribution of essential commodities, including tur dal, gram, groundnut oil, double-fortified salt, and M-30 white sugar under strict quality benchmarks.
For pulses like tur dal and gram, transport trucks are secured with single-use wire seals before dispatching to warehouses. Warehouse samples undergo 100 per cent cross-verification at the Food Research Laboratory under IS:4333 (Part I and II):2018 and IS:2813:2015 methods to maintain purity and transparency across the public distribution system.
