FARMERS CALL HIKE IN MSPS ‘INADEQUATE’
Farmer organisations in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two states that witnessed violent protests by farmers demanding better prices, have criticised the Modi government’s minimum support prices (MSPs) as insignificant and inadequate, as have leaders in a handful of other states.
Farmer organisations in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two states that witnessed violent protests by farmers demanding better prices, have criticised the Modi government’s minimum support prices (MSPs) as insignificant and inadequate, as have leaders in a handful of other states.
The Union cabinet had on Wednesday announced higher minimum support prices (MSPs) for 14 crops, setting each of these at a minimum of 1.5 times the cost of cultivation. The MSP for paddy, the main kharif crop, has been increased by ~200 per quintal.
Most of the farmers said the MSPs should have been calculated on the so-called C2 costs, a comprehensive measure that includes imputed rent on owned land and interests on capital, as recommended by the Swaminathan Committee.
Shiv Kumar Sharma, president of the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh, alleged the government had defrauded farmers. Sharma, one of the leaders of the agitation in Mandsaur in June 2017 in which five farmers were killed in police firing, said the government earned more than ~1.5 lakh crore from farmers through crop insurance scheme, taxes on diesel and GST on agriculture equipment but would return only about ~15,000 crore to farmers through the MSP hikes.
“The government has cheated the farmers. It has hiked the MSP for paddy by ~200 only. The MSP hike for certain other crops is significant but the output of such crops produced is too insignificant to provide any benefit to the farmers and its purchase is mainly in the hands of the traders,” Sharma said. Anil Yadav, the state president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), said the hikes in MSP would hardly bring about any change in the life of farmers as “traders will continue to buy the crops much below the MSP and sell it at much higher price”. The RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) welcomed the announcement. Shivakant Dixit, general secretary of BKS, said: “We thank the government but it should make better arrangements for procurement of crops to ensure that there is no purchase of crops below the MSP.” GS Kaushal, former director ofagriculture,Madhya Pradesh, said until the input cost of agricultureisreducedand there is an effective law to control traders, farmers are not going to get any benefit with such a hike in MSP. “There is no meaning of the MSP as traders buy the crop at mandis much below the MSP. They will continue to do so with impunity.” Rajasthan-based Kisan Mahapanchayat national president Rampal Jat said the announcement of MSP by adding 50% profit on cost of cultivation is half-truth, as in the cost of cultivation, rent of owned land of farmer and interest on working capital have not been included.