Rs 1,300 MSP for maize too less, says Kapurthala MLA
Tuesday, 01/07/2014
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140701/punjab.htm#14
Jalandhar : Senior Congress leader and Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh today said even as the Akali-BJP Government claimed to be pro-farmers, it “did not seem to be serious” about crop diversification that could give a lot of relief to agriculturists.
He said this in reference to the Rs 1,300 per quintal minimum support price (MSP) announced for maize. Rana said, “The way the Government of India, which the Akalis are a part and parcel of, has fixed the MSP for maize when the MSP of fodder was fixed at Rs 1,700 per quintal reflects its non-seriousness in encouraging maize farming. As a result, farmers are going for distress sale and they are not able to sell maize for more than Rs 1,000 per quintal. This has been done despite the fact that the nutritional value of fodder is far less than that of maize.”
In a statement issued here today, the senior Congress leader urged the Punjab Government to purchase maize at Rs 1,400 per quintal and debit the interest and handling costs to the Union Government’s account as per the policy laid out.
He said the Union Government should have no problem in crediting the amount to the state government as the MSP is guaranteed by the Centre only. Rana said, “A large number of farmers who had tried to diversify by growing maize as an alternative crop and save water were facing discouragement at the hands of the government.
While last year, they got Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,500 per quintal, this year they were not able to sell it even for about Rs 1,000 per quintal and that too when the MSP for maize had been fixed at Rs 1,300 per quintal. Such fluctuations in the prices will simply devastate farmers.”
Rana said that even the state Agriculture Minister had demanded Rs 1,800 MSP for maize. He said, “With its own government at the Centre, the state should not have had any problem in getting it done but they apparently were not serious about it”.
He said the state government had purchased high quality maize driers but these had not been made functional so far.
