New Delhi:
The government has not given any clear reply to make the minimum support price (MSP) a legal guarantee. The government says that such arrangements have been made that farmers should get the benefit of at least per cent of their produce costs. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said this in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. In fact, Saugat Roy, a member of Tanmool Congress, asked the question whether the government has any proposal to give a legal guarantee to the minimum support price (MSP) for agricultural products? He wanted to know its details. Roy also wanted to know whether the government had held any talks with the farmers and their leaders sitting on a fast since 26 November 2024 demanding the MSP to make a legal guarantee.
What did the government say on MSP
In response to these questions, the Agriculture Minister said that the Central Government had declared the principle in the Union Budget of 2018-19 that the MSP would be kept one and a half times the cost of production. He informed that the government has increased the MSP for all the prescribed kharif, rabi and other commercial crops from the year 2018-19. Its aims to the farmers should get a profit of at least 50 percent at the all India average cost of their production. He informed that the government purchases grains and coarse grains through Food Corporation of India and other designated state agencies to provide price support to farmers.
The Agriculture Minister said that under the Prime Minister Annadata Income Protection Campaign Scheme, pulses, oilseeds and coconut are procured when the market price goes below the MSP. Under this scheme, agencies like National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India Limited (NCCF) carry out the purchase process. Cotton and jute are procured on MSP through Cotton Corporation of India and Jute Corporation of India.
When how much did you buy
Chauhan said that between 2014-15 to 2024-25 (from February 2025), the government purchased 7574.18 lakh metric tonnes of paddy. Its MSP price was 14.08 lakh crore. Similarly, 3057.38 lakh metric tonnes of wheat was purchased. Its MSP price was 5.65 lakh crore. During this period, 172.47 lakh metric tonnes of pulses were purchased at an MSP price of 92.8 thousand crores, while 121.48 lakh metric tonnes of oilseeds were procured at a MSP price of 61.8 thousand crores.
The government formed a committee in July 2022 to make MSP more effective and transparent. This committee has to suggest the practicality of making the Agricultural Costs and Price Commission more autonomous and take measures to make it more scientific. Strengthen the agricultural marketing system as per the changing needs of the country, so that farmers can get more value of their product and they can avail domestic and export opportunities.
The central government started a conversation with farmer leaders on February 8, 2024. Subsequently, talks were also held on 12, 15, 18 February 2024, 14 and 22 February 2025. In these meetings, both sides discussed the MSP.
Also read: The market of discussions is hot about Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant Kumar, what Bihar leaders are saying
(Tagstotranslate) minimum support price
