To give a boost to the income of farmers, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved an increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for various Kharif crops or summer sown crops for the marketing season 2021-22. The MSP of paddy (general) has been increased from Rs 1,868 per quintal in 2020-21 to Rs 1,940 per quintal in 2021-22.
MSP of crops will be raised in future as well: Narendra Singh Tomar
Announcing the decision after the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that the minimum support price of the crops will be raised in the future as well.
He also said that the Modi government has been taking decisions in the favour of farmers for the last seven years and is always ready to discuss solutions to their problems.
Kharif crop: Old vs new MSP
The highest absolute increase in MSP over the previous year has been recommended for sesamum ( ₹452 per quintal) followed by tur and urad ( ₹300 per quintal each).
In the case of groundnut and nigerseed, there has been an increase of ₹275 per quintal and ₹235 per quintal, respectively, in comparison to last year. The differential remuneration is aimed at encouraging crop diversification, an official release said.
Increase in the MSP of paddy (common variety) to Rs 1,940 per quintal for the 2021-22 crop year (July-June) from Rs 1,868 per quintal in the year-ago period.
Similarly, the MSP of Bajra has been increased to Rs 2,250 per quintal for the current year from Rs 2,150 per quintal last year, he said.
The MSP of cotton (medium staple) has been increased to Rs 5,150 from Rs 4,020 and that of cotton (long staple) to Rs 5,450 from 4,320 per quintal.
Wheat purchase at MSP:
So far, about 416.44 lakh metric tonnes of wheat has been procured from across the country on the minimum support price this year, as against 371.33 lakh metric tonnes of wheat in the same period last year. This time there has been 12.14 percent more purchases on MSP than last year.
The top 5 states in wheat procurement include Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
In total procurement, Madhya Pradesh tops with 132.1 lakh MT, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 128.08 LMT, followed by Haryana with 84.93 LMT and Uttar Pradesh with 45.78 LMT.
Decision comes in backdrop of ongoing farmers agitation:
The decision comes in the backdrop of the ongoing farmer agitation against the three new farm laws. The agitation, which has been going on since last November at Delhi borders, is being revived as the stalemate between the farmers and government continues.
The farmers want all three laws to be withdrawn fearing they will lead to the end of the MSP system. The government has assured that MSP will continue.