govt-will-buy-all-farm-produce-at-msp-says-chouhan-in-rs

The Narendra Modi government has fixed minimum support prices (MSPs) for crops to ensure at least 50% returns and will purchase all farm produce at these rates, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

 

His remarks came as farmers marched towards the capital, demanding legally guaranteed prices.

 

In response to a question from Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on the government’s action regarding MSPs, Chouhan said:
“I am giving a simple answer, honourable chairman sir, our plan is that Modi ji’s government works on a long-term vision. We will increase production, reduce the cost of production, give a fair price for the production, and if there is a loss in the crop, it will be compensated under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (a state-run farm insurance scheme).”

 

The government fixes MSPs for 23 essential crops to protect producers from distress sales, taking into account the cost of production. However, it predominantly buys only rice and wheat in significant quantities at those prices. Farmers have been demanding legally enforceable MSPs for all essential crops.

 

Protesting farmers clashed with police near Shambhu, a border crossing between Punjab and Haryana, where entry points to the capital were barricaded. Authorities suspended mobile internet services in parts of Haryana and ordered school closures as a precautionary measure.

 

The farmers are demanding legislation to guarantee minimum crop prices, reviving a movement that in 2021 led to the government withdrawing three contentious agricultural laws opposed by producers. During question hour, the agriculture minister assured the House that the government would buy all farm produce at federally fixed floor prices.

 

“I want to assure the House through you (the chair) that all produce of farmers will be purchased at the minimum support price. This is the Modi government, and it guarantees to fulfil Modi’s guarantee,” Chouhan said.

 

Taking a dig at the opposition, he added: “When our friends from the other side were in power, they had stated on record that they could not accept the MS Swaminathan Commission recommendations, especially on giving 50% more than the cost of produce. I have the record.”

 

The minister also claimed that when the Congress was in power, the government failed to purchase farmers’ produce at MSP, leading farmers to “shed tears of blood.”