Minimum Support Price

Expressing concern over rape-mustard seed rates falling below the minimum support price (MSP), edible oil industry body SEA on Tuesday demanded the government commence procurement and restrict imports of refined palm oil as part of steps to arrest the price drop. Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA), in a representation to both food and commerce secretaries, said mustard seed prices in the wholesale market yards have crashed below the MSP of Rs 5,450 per quintal and the arrivals are increasing on a daily basis. "Further drop in prices cannot be ruled out," SEA Executive Director B V Mehta said. He also noted that unbridled imports of refined palm oil have led to the collapse in domestic edible oil prices which is impacting the marketing of mustard seed at peak harvest time and causing distress to farmers. "We feel heavy imports of refined palmolein are neither helping our mustard farmer nor the Indian refining industry," he said. To arrest further fall in prices, SEA has

The Congress on Sunday resolved to make minimum support price for crops a legally enforceable right of farmers with any purchase of agricultural produce below it a punishable offence. The party also said no criminal proceedings will be initiated against farmers over debt and no land will be auctioned to recover outstanding loans. The party, in a resolution on farmers and agriculture adopted at its 85th plenary session here, also resolved to provide one-time immediate relief to farmers from indebtedness by bringing a debt waiver scheme to waive up to Rs 6 lakh each farmer. "The Indian National Congress resolves that MSP (minimum support price) should be a legally enforceable right of the farmers. Purchase of agricultural produce below MSP be made a punishable offense," the party said. "MSP should be calculated based on the C-2 cost plus 50 per cent profit as suggested by the Swaminathan Commission and subsequently recommended in the report of the Group of Chief Ministers headed by t

The Congress on Sunday promised farmers will be given minimum support price (MSP) with legal guarantee under C2 formula of M.S. Swaminathan Commission

Food Corporation of India (FCI) has sold 1.805 million metric tonnes of wheat in the open market through three e-auctions till date

Wheat crop is in good condition and the government's procurement would be normal at 300-400 lakh tonne in the 2023-24 marketing year starting March, FCI Chairman and Managing Director Ashok K Meena said on Thursday. "Area sown to wheat is higher than last year. The current condition of wheat crop is very good. Our procurement should be normal at 300-400 lakh tonne in 2023-24," Meena said in a press conference. The wheat procurement had declined last year due to a fall in domestic production and higher exports, he said. Asked whether there would be any impact on wheat crop due to rise in temperature, as forecast by the Met Department, Meena said it is unlikely to have any impact and the short duration crop will not be affected. The government has projected a record wheat production at 112.18 million tonne in the 2023-24 crop year (July-June) as per the second estimate of the agriculture ministry. Last year, wheat procurement for the central pool had declined to 187.92 lakh tonne fr

The state has paid Rs 22,670 crore to 2.4 million registered farmers against the paddy purchased

Farmers engaged in the cultivation of green peas have staged a protest on Jabalpur-Bhopal national highway after getting low prices for their produce and demanded the Madhya Pradesh government fix a minimum support price for it in the open market. The protest staged by farmers on Saturday is significant since the Madhya Pradesh government has selected green peas under one-district one-product scheme for Jabalpur district, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh national spokesperson Raghvendra Patel told PTI on Sunday. Green peas are grown on a large scale in the district and supplied to various other states, he said. "The farmers want the state government to fix the minimum price for the trading of green peas in the open market, he said. This has been a long pending demand of farmers from the district, he said. Currently, in the absence of such norms, farmers incur losses in the production of green peas if the rate per kilogram goes down in the open market - below the actual production cost per kg

The Bhupesh Baghel government is paying a bonus to the farmers under the Rajiv Gandhi Nyay Yojana and facilitating them to get Rs 2,500 for a quintal of yield

The government has procured 24,000 tonnes of green gram (moong) under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) so far this crop year, according to a senior agriculture ministry official. PSS, which is under the Agriculture Ministry, is operationalised only when prices of agri-produce fall below the minimum support price (MSP). Cooperative Nafed is undertaking procurement on behalf of the central government. The ministry has approved procurement of 4,00,000 tonnes of kharif moong in 10 states including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha and Maharashtra. "So far 24,000 tonnes of moong has been procured, out of which maximum 18,000 to 19,000 tonnes has been procured in Karnataka alone," the ministry official told PTI. The ministry has also given approval for the procurement of 2,94,000 tonnes of urad and 14 lakh tonnes of groundnut crop grown in the 2022-23 Kharif season. However, the procurement couldn't take place as the mandi prices are .

Several farmer leaders of Punjab on Saturday submitted a memorandum to Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit, seeking implementation of their various demands including legally guaranteed minimum support price and withdrawal of the Electricity Amendment Bill. On the call of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), representatives of 33 farmer bodies in the state also took out a march to mark the second anniversary of their agitation against the now-repealed three farm laws. However, the farmers, who came in large numbers from across the state, took out the march from Gurdwara Amb Sahib in Mohali till the Chandigarh-Mohali border from where a representative of the Punjab Governor accepted a memorandum on his behalf. A heavy police force was deployed at the Chandigarh-Mohali border, said officials. Later, several farmer leaders including Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Harinder Singh Lakhowal and Harmeet Singh Kadian were taken in a bus by the Chandigarh police to Raj Bhavan in the Union Territory for a ...

The group will also celebrate November 19 as 'Fateh Diwas' to commemorate the repeal of the laws

Assam Government has built a 5,000 metric-tonne-capacity cold-storage facility at Chaygaon and a fruit-processing centre at the food-processing park at Satabari under Kamrup district

As a measure to check air pollution, the Haryana government is considering announcing a minimum support price (MSP) on stubble so that farmers sell their crop residue instead of burning it, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Wednesday. He said the number of stubble burning cases has come down substantially in Haryana. The state government gives Rs 1,000 per acre to farmers for not burning the crop residue, Khattar said, adding that it also helps them sell the crop residue to refineries and other industries. Asserting that his government is "very serious" about the issue of stubble burning, Khattar said, "We have succeeded in putting a check on stubble burning with cooperation from farmers by providing financial help to them and making them aware of its harmful effects." "To take it further, we are considering announcing an MSP on stubble and exploring the possibility of buying it from farmers and giving it to industries for their use," the chief minister told a press ...

The state-run Chhattisgarh Marketing Federation (MarkFed) is the nodal agency for procurement. The volume of paddy has increased by over 12 per cent from last year's 9.79 million tonnes.

About 110 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of paddy is estimated to be procured at the minimum support price (MSP) in the ongoing kharif marketing season from farmers in Chhattisgarh, a government official said on Monday. Last year, around 98 lakh MT of paddy was purchased from cultivators in the state. The paddy procurement drive will begin on November 1, Chhattisgarh's statehood day, and conclude on January 31 next year. All preparations are in full swing to start purchase of paddy and so far over 25 lakh farmers have registered, 95,000 of them new registrations, themselves to sell their produce at designated centres, he said. Registrations of farmers who were enrolled last year were carry forward this year, the official added. About 110 lakh metric tonnes of paddy is estimated to be procured in this kharif marketing season for which 5.50 lakh bundles of jute gunny bags will be required, he said. A trial run of the drive will be held from October 26 to 28 at all cooperative societies ..

The government's decisions on MSP are often said to be driven also with an eye on food inflation

The government on Tuesday hiked the minimum support price for wheat by Rs 110 to Rs 2,125 per quintal and mustard by Rs 400 to Rs 5,450 per quintal for the current crop year with an aim to boost production and income of the farmers. The decision to increase the MSPs (minimum support prices) was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. MSP is the rate at which the government buys grain from farmers. Currently, the government fixes MSPs for 23 crops grown in both Kharif and rabi seasons. Sowing of rabi (winter) crops begins in October, immediately after the harvest of kharif (summer) crops. Wheat and mustard are major rabi crops. According to an official release, the CCEA has approved an increase in MSPs for six rabi crops for the 2022-23 crop year (July-June) and the 2023-24 marketing season. Wheat MSP has been increased by Rs 110 to Rs 2,125 per quintal for this crop year from Rs 2,015 per quintal in the 2021-2

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday the hike in the minimum support price of several Rabi crops will further energise the agriculture sector. The government on Tuesday hiked the minimum support price (MSP) of six Rabi crops by up to 9 per cent, with Rs 110 per quintal increase for wheat crop to boost domestic production and farmers' income. Wheat MSP has been raised by 5.45 per cent to Rs 2,125 per quintal from Rs 2,015 per quintal to encourage more area under the crop amid tight government stock position owing to low procurement, fall in production and higher exports. Modi noted that farmers are important partners in the country's development and said the government has approved increase in the MSPs of all essential Rabi crops, including wheat, lentils, and barley.

In the ongoing Kharif marketing season in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu, farmers have benefitted with minimum support price value of Rs 2,356.30 crore

Apart from unemployment, the withdrawal of the Electrical Reform Bill and implementation of the minimum support price (MSP) on commercial crops were among the major demands of the farmers