The Modi government on Monday hiked the minimum price for buying six rabi crops, including wheat,
by up to six per cent, sending a strong message to farmers on continuation of Minimum Support Price (MSP)-based procurement system in the country. “Government has hiked MSP by Rs 50 per quintal for
wheat, Rs 225 per quintal for gram, Rs 300 per quintal for lentil, Rs 225 per quintal for Mustard seeds, and Rs 75 per quintal for barley,” Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told the Lok
Sabha on Monday.
Meanwhile, taking to Twitter, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh wrote that the cabinet under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to increase the MSP of many rabi crops which is a reflection of his commitment to protect the interests of farmers. “In order to give a remunerative price or their crops of the farmers, it has been decided to pay one and a half times the cost price and in some crops, double the price under MSP. I wholeheartedly welcome Prime Minister’s decisions and Agriculture Minister’s announcement,” he added.
The move came a day after Parliament approved two farm bills — The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 — which saw an unprecedented
ruckus in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday.
Tomar said the MSPs of six rabi crops were approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by PM Modi on Monday, a move aimed at encouraging farmers ahead of the sowing operations of winter crops. He said the government has been maintaining that the MSP mechanism will continue and the approval of new support price ahead of rabi season attests to this fact as against a
false propaganda spread by Opposition parties.
PM Modi hailed the decision of the Cabinet to raise MSP and said that crores of farmers will benefit from the same. He also said that higher MSP will empower farmers and contribute to doubling of their income. “Increased MSP, along with the series of agriculture reforms passed by Parliament will ensure dignity and prosperity of farmers. Jai Kisan!,” PM Modi said on Twitter.
Home Minister Amit Shah also took to Twitter and said that those opposing Modi government’s agricultural reform bills are actually opposing the happiness of farmers and the true value of their produce.
Several Congress MPs had walked out of the House after Tomar made the announcement about the MSPs. Citing various data, the Agriculture Minister said the procurement has been significantly higher under this government in the last six years compared to the UPA regime. Tomar said Rs 7 lakh crore has been paid to farmers as MSP in the last six years, which is nearly double than the UPA government.
The minister said the MSP and APMC mechanisms, as well as the government’s purchase of crops at
MSP rates, would continue. He added that farmers would also be free to sell outside APMC mandis.
Later in a series of tweets, Tomar said the MSP of wheat is 106 per cent more than the production cost. In case of gram and lentil, the MSP is 78 per cent higher than production cost. The support price of barley is 65 per cent above the production cost. Mustard MSP’s is 93 per cent higher than production cost, while safflower’s support price is 50 per cent higher than the cost of production.