Farmers Movement Archive

PM: MSP vital for food security system, govt committed to it

NEW DELHI: Amid farmers’ protests in Punjab and Haryana against the newly-enacted farm laws, PM Narendra Modi on Friday said procurement of food crops at minimum support price (MSP) was a key element of the country’s food security system and his government was committed to continue with it. “It’s important that the system continues with better facilities and in a scientific way,” the PM said in his address on the 75th anniversary of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). His assurance assumes significance at a time when there has been apprehension among farmers over the fate of MSP under the new legislations. Modi, on the occasion, released 17 recently developed biofortified varieties of eight crops including paddy, wheat, maize and millets that will help in dealing with nutritional deficiency in the country. He also issued a commemorative coin of Rs 75 to mark the occasion. The PM said the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) system and MSP mechanism under the new farm laws regime would ultimately benefit small and marginal farmers through a network of farmer producer organisations (FPOs). “Efforts to create 10,000 FPOs in the country are going on. It will help small farmers bargain in the market for better prices for their produce. These FPOs will change the lives of small farmers in a similar way cooperatives have changed the lives of dairy and sugarcane farmers,” Modi said. He also listed the government’s initiatives to fight malnutrition such as National Nutrition Mission (Poshan Abhiyan), construction of toilets under Swachh Bharat Mission, Mission Rainbow, Jal Jeevan Mission and distribution of low cost sanitation pads. He said important work was done to tackle malnutrition like promoting coarse grains and crops rich in nutrition like protein, iron, zinc etc The PM expressed thanks to FAO for fully supporting India’s proposal to declare 2023 as the International Year of Millets and said this would encourage intake of nutritious food, increase their availability and benefit small farmers who grow coarse cereals.

The Times of India

2020-10-17

India