‘Hike in wheat, pulses MSP mere tokenism’
Wednesday, 25/10/2017
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CHANDIGARH Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday termed the increase in minimum support price (MSP) announced by the Centre “inadequate” and demanded a review in line with the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission.
In a statement here, the chief minister said the increase of ₹110 per quintal in the MSP of wheat and ₹200 per quintal in that of pulses would not help achieve the objective of boosting the output of these crops and checking prices.
The move would also not, in any way, provide much relief to the distressed farmers of the country who are reeling under huge debt burden and struggling to make both ends meet, he added.
The CM said if the Centre was serious about uplifting the agriculture sector and alleviating the woes of the farmers, it would need to go beyond such tokenism to announce far-reaching changes in the MSP and other welfare initiatives, including debt waiver, in the interest of the farming community.
The Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations on the MSP need to be implemented urgently, in toto, if the country’s agricultural system has to survive and prosper, Amarinder said.
Citing the Swaminathan Commission report, he said the only long-term solution to the crisis faced by the farming community lay in giving attractive remuneration to them through pricing and procurement based on total cost of production plus 50%, as recommended by the panel.
