New Delhi, November 5
The Centre today hiked the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat by Rs 20 a quintal, an increase that failed to satisfy the farmers who termed the “meagre” hike as the “cruelest joke” played on them by the government at a time when costs of production were skyrocketing.
The decision for rabi crops of 2009-10 season, to be marketed in 2010-11, was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), which was presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The government has fixed the MSP of wheat at Rs 1,100 per quintal, hence marking an increase of Rs 20 per quintal over last year’s support price of Rs 1,080. The MSP of barley has been fixed at Rs 750 per quintal and chana at Rs 1,760 per quintal, an increase of Rs 70 per quintal and Rs 30 per quintal, respectively, over the last year’s support price.
The MSP of safflower has been fixed at Rs 1,680 per quintal-an increase of Rs 30 per quintal over the last year’s MSP. However, the support prices of other Rabi crops have remained unchanged at the last year’s level. These include masoor at Rs 1,870 per quintal and rapeseed and mustard at Rs 1,830 per quintal.
Coming at the time when sowing of rabi wheat is in progress in the country, the hike has raised doubts over government’s plan of action to recover procurement losses expected during the kharif season. Last year, the government increased the wheat MSP by Rs 80 per quintal, which led to a record production as well as procurement of wheat. During 2009-10 season, the target is to produce 82 million tonne (MT) of wheat.
As per government’s own figures, the
country’s rice production is projected to slump by over 15.13 MT to 69.45 MT this year. In fact, production of all major kharif crops, barring cotton, is expected to slide, as per the first advance estimate released by the Agriculture Ministry on Tuesday.
Defending the not-so-substantial increase in wheat MSP this time, Agriculture Ministry officials say the support price this year was calculated to factor in the expected rise in inflation due to increasing food grain costs. “Due to a bad kharif season, food grain prices are expected to rise. If the government pays more for rabi crops, the prices will increase further,” they argue.
Farmers’ leader Balbir Singh Rajewal, however, counters the argument, saying cost of production has increased for farmers as well. “Farmers are biggest consumers and no one seems to be concerned about them,” he says. The farmers are expected to protest against the decision, following which the government would most likely announce a bonus on the wheat MSP in the coming weeks.
