Farmers Movement Archive

Revised MSPs fail to offer succour to farmers in Punjab

The Centre on Monday announced revised minimum support prices (MSPs) for Kharif crops, however, farmers, who were anticipating a financial bailout from the government, were let down by the paltry increments as the agricultural sector grapples with acute shortage of labour.The central ministry of agriculture announced the MSP for different crops on the recommendations of the commission for agricultural costs and prices (CACP). With an increase of Rs 53, the MSP of paddy (common) has been revised from Rs 1,815 to Rs 1,868, while Grade-A paddy will be bought for Rs 1,888 as compared to last year’s Rs 1,835.Effecting an increase of Rs 90, the MSP for maize has been increased from Rs 1,760 to Rs 1,850,The MSP of cotton (medium staple) has been increased by Rs 260. Now, cottons MSP is Rs 5,515 as compared to last year’s Rs 5,255.Economists, too, are of the opinion that the increase is too insufficient to offer any succour to the ailing agricultural sector.Noted economist Sardara Singh Johl says though he had observed that the concept of MSP hardly favours 84% of the small and marginal farmers, there should be a consistent increase in the crop pricing as the cost of the production has been increasing every year.MANIFOLD INCREASE IN INPUT COST “There will be manifold increase in the input cost of paddy sowing due to shortage of labour. The government should either further increase the MSP or provide some other assistance to farmers,” Johl said, adding that usually the commission adopts a scientific approach while proposing pricing, however this year it was not the case. “Farmers will have to depend on machines for paddy sowing or hire local labour, who are charging double than migrants, for manual sowing of the crop,” Johl said.Professor Kesar Singh Bhangoo, an economist at Punjabi university, said in the present scenario, the marginal increase in MSP will not serve any purpose. “With an increase of Rs 53 in paddy MSP, farmers should have an additional earning of Rs 1,560 by selling 30 quintals of production from an acre. However, this year, the cost of labour has doubled to almost Rs 5,500 from Rs 2,800 per acre (an increase of Rs 2,700),” Bhangoo said.Government intervention is crucial for agricultural labour and farmers at this juncture, he added.INCREASED MSP A ‘JOKE’: BKUFarmers say the government remains indifferent to the challenges being faced by the farming community due to the coronavirus crisis.Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugarahan) state president Joginder Singh dismissed the Rs 53 hike in paddy MSP as a ‘joke’.“We reject the increased MSP as it will not help farmers at all. The government has failed to calculate input cost of paddy cultivation and other expenses while tabulating the MSP,” he said.Farmers expect labour costs to double this year as while migrant workers charge Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 per acre for sowing paddy, local labour in Punjab demands Rs 5,000-Rs 5,500 per acre.BKU general secretary (Dakaunda) Jagmohan Singh said the commission adopts an outdated method to determine MSP.“There is no check on inflation due to the Covid-19 crisis,” he said.Farmers have been asking the Centre to adopt the formula recommended by National Commission on Farmers chairperson MS Swaminathan, under which farmers will be provided an MSP which accounts for the basic costs incurred on production and an additional 50% profit.

Hindustan Times

02-06-2020

Chandigarh