Expressing concern over the plight of farmers across the country, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding the passage of a Bill to mandate automatic annual review of minimum support prices (MSP) so that they are 50% higher than the cost of production.
“I am writing to you to demand that your government introduce and pass a legislation in the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament which not only confers on farmers the Right to Sell at MSP, but also guarantees an automatic annual review of the MSP which will be, at least, 50 per cent more than the comprehensive production costs as established by the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) for that year,” he said in his letter.
“The current MSP for various crops fixed by your government barely provides any returns to the farmer,” he noted in the letter. Mr. Yechury also reminded Mr. Modi of his election campaign “promise” to offer an MSP that gives a 50 per cent profit to farmers above their net production costs.