Stating that the new MSP announced for 17 crops during this kharif by the Union government was grossly inadequate and would not help farmers, Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah on Sunday said that the government should reconsider the decision and announce a fresh MSP based on the formula recommended by the National Commission on farmers headed by M.S. Swaminathan.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that MSP should be extended to all agriculture produce to help farmers tide over the fallout of COVID-19 . He also said that many farmers do not have access to markets to sell at MSP, which pushes them to sell their produce to local traders at much lower prices.
While the demand of farmers has been calculation of MSP based on the recommendation of M.S. Swaminathan Commission, the government has not done so, and makes it difficult for the farmers to expect any remunerative returns on their investments. “This is one of the major reasons for farmers’ distress,” he said.
For example, he said that as per the Centre’s current calculation, the MSP for groundnut has been announced at ₹5,275 on a cost of production of ₹3,515. However, as per the commission’s formula, the cost of production would be ₹6,509 and the MSP should have been ₹9,763.50. “This wide difference in MSP can be seen for all crops announced.” Mr. Siddaramaiah said that as the MSP are a major source for price discovery, farmers are disadvantaged to unlock the true market value of their produce due to the current calculations.