Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar also said that the Centre is ready to resume talks but the farm unions should point out their objections to the provisions of the farm laws with “sound logic”.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the hike in Minimum Support Price (MSP) for various Kharif crops for the summer-sown season, raising them by up to 6%.
The MSP hike was also for paddy to Rs 1,940 per quintal for the 2021-’22 crop year. The increase is under 4% when compared to last year’s price of Rs 1,868.
MSP is basically a floor price determined by the Centre for crops aimed to avoid distress sale by signalling a minimum rate for private traders. The government, through the state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI), buys large quantities of cereals from farmers at MSP rates and distributes them to beneficiaries via the public distribution system (PDS).
The planting of the Kharif crops like rice has so far covered 56.50 lakh hectare (ha) across the nation in the 2021-22 Kharif season, according to a report by the agriculture ministry released in March, reported Hindustan Times
Elaborating the decisions by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the Centre always said that the MSP will remain and the increase in support prices for Kharif crops is proof of that commitment.
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“The government has increased the MSP of Kharif crops to ensure remunerative prices to the growers for their produce. The increase in MSP for Kharif Crops for marketing season, 2021-22 is in line with the Union Budget 2018-19 announcement of fixing the MSPs at a level of at least 1.5 times of the All-India weighted average Cost of Production (CoP), aiming at reasonably fair remuneration for the farmers,” Tomar said
“MSP [on farm crops] is there, is being hiked and will continue in future as well,” the minister also said.
Meanwhile, thousands of farmers continue to protest outside Delhi for more than six months, demanding the repeal of three new agricultural laws. The farmers have also asked that MSPs be given a legal guarantee.
Tomar said that the Centre is ready to resume talks but the farm unions should point out their objections to the provisions of the farm laws with “sound logic”.
“We will listen and find a solution,” he added.
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