New Delhi, April 2
The Union Cabinet today fixed the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat of fair average quality at Rs 620 per quintal, an increase of Rs 10 over the MSP of wheat last year.
Though the new MSP of wheat is an improvement over Rs 610 per quintal recommended by the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices for this year the support price falls short of the expectations of the Punjab Government which had demanded Rs 760 per quintal.
Soon after he took over as Punjab Chief Minister last month, Capt Amarinder Singh had called on Union Food Minister Shanta Kumar and raised the issue of increasing the MSP of wheat. His contention was that the prices of fertilisers and other agricultural inputs had gone up considerably and the farmers of Punjab were getting poorer.
According to advance estimates the rabi foodgrains production for 2001-2002 is expected to be 100.72 million tonnes as against 92.56 million tonnes in 2000-2001.
The Cabinet also took other decisions on the price policy for rabi crops of 2001-2002 season to be marketed in 2002-2003.
The price rise ranges between Rs 10 per quintal in case of wheat and Rs 100 in the case of gram, rapeseed/mustard, safflower and masur.
Announcing the Cabinet decisions, Law Minister Arun Jaitley said the MSP of barley of fair average quality (FAQ) had been retained at the last year price level of Rs 500 per quintal while the MSP of gram of FAQ had been fixed at Rs 1200 per quintal, which represented an increase of Rs 100 per quintal over the price
fixed for the last year’s marketing season.The MSP of rapeseed/mustard has been fixed at Rs 1300 per quintal, an increase of Rs 100 per quintal over the last year’s price of Rs 1200 per quintal.
The MSP of safflower has been fixed at Rs 1300 per quintal registering an increase of Rs 100 per quintal over the last year’s price.
The MSP of masur has been fixed at Rs 1300 per quintal for the next season, an increase of Rs 100 per quintal over the last year’s price of Rs 1200 per quintal.
Mr Jaitley said the MSPs fixed by the government would provide incentive to farmers to invest and improve production and productivity. It was decided that the prices of other oilseeds belonging to the rapeseed/mustard group be fixed on the basis of their normal market price differentials with rapeseed/mustard.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, has expressed disappointment over the minor increase in the MSP for wheat and appealed to the Centre to reconsider its decision as “it was a grave injustice towards the hardworking farming community”.
A Punjab Government statement issued here said the farming community was under an unprecedented debt burden. Agriculture had already reached the saturation point and cost of production was increasing day by day, it said.
Punjab and demanded an MSP of Rs 760 per quintal on grounds of prices of fertilisers and other agricultural inputs.
