Farmers are protesting again, this time, demanding a law to guarantee a minimum support price (MSP) for which they will march to the national capital on February 13. The demonstration comes after almost two years when the farmers took to Delhi against the three farm laws, which were later withdrawn by the government.
Section 144 has been imposed in Haryana, mobile internet services has been suspended in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar and Fatehabad, and borders adjoining Punjab to stop protesting farmers.
The first round of talks between the farmer union leaders of Samyukta Kisan Morcha and Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda and Nityanand Rai in Chandigarh took place Thursday night.
What are the Farmers Demanding?
The farmers want the government to enact a law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP). The farmers also want implementation of recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission to ensure fair remuneration and sustainable agricultural practices.
Some of the main recommendations of the commission include:
• Distribute ceiling-surplus and waste lands;
• Prevent diversion of prime agricultural land and forest to corporate sector for non-agricultural purposes.
• Ensure grazing rights and seasonal access to forests to tribals and pastoralists, and access to common property resources.
• Establish a National Land Use Advisory Service, which would have the capacity to link land use decisions with ecological meteorological and marketing factors on a location and season specific basis.
• Set up a mechanism to regulate the sale of agricultural land, based on quantum of land, nature of proposed use and category of buyer.
The government has announced MSP for 23 produces before the Rabi and Kharif seasons, but the actual procurement is limited to two key crops – paddy and wheat – in Punjab and Haryana and parts of western UP, according to The Telegraph’s report.
But how to ensure MSP? One way is force buyers to pay, just as sugar mills are required, by law, to pay farmers a “fair and remunerative” price within 14 days of purchase. The second is for government agencies to buy the entire marketable produce of farmers offered at MSP, according to The Indian Express report.
Another option is price deficiency payments, which ensures that the government pays the farmers the difference between the market price and MSP. This depends on the quality of crop sold to the private trade.
Current MSP Models
PDP was first tried in Madhya Pradesh through Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana during the 2017-18 kharif season for eight crops namely urad, soyabean, maize, arhar, moong, groundnut, sesame and nigerseed. Under this scheme, the market price for a crop was its average modal (most-quoted) rate in the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis of Madhya Pradesh as well as two other growing states during the particular month of sale. The price difference vis-à-vis the MSP was payable on the actual quantity sold by the farmer, backed by an “anubandh patra” (sale agreement with trader), “tol parchi” (weighment slip), and “bhugtan patra” (payment letter signed by both parties), as quoted by The Indian Express.
The Haryana government opted for both physical procurement and PDP under Bhavantar Bharpai Yojana (BBY), which is implemented in Bajra, mustard, sunflower seed, and 16 other vegetables and three fruit crops. In 2020-21, the state government directly procured 776,909 tonnes of bajra and 16,952 tonnes of sunflower at MSPs of Rs 2,150 and Rs 5,885 per quintal respectively.
What Govt Data on Procurement at MSP Says?
The government has procured 30 million tonnes of kharif paddy directly from farmers under MSP. Major contributors to paddy procurement include Punjab (18.42 MT), Haryana (5.87 MT), Telangana (1.97 MT), Chhattisgarh (1.28 MT), Uttar Pradesh (0.77 MT), Uttarakhand (0.57 MT), and Tamil Nadu (0.54 MT).
In August, Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies set a 52.1 MT rice (77.4 MT paddy) purchase target for the kharif season, compared to 49.5 MT procured in the previous season.
During the 2022-23 season, FCI and state agencies procured over 56.94 MT of rice in both kharif and rabi seasons. Kharif rice production is estimated at 106.31 MT, a 3.7% decline due to uneven monsoon distribution.
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