The decision to increase the minimum support price was taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The government on September 8 raised the minimum support price for wheat from ₹40 to ₹2,015 per quintal and for mustard ₹400 to ₹5,050 for the current crop year to boost the crop area as well as farmers’ income. per quintal increased.
The decision to increase the Minimum Support Price (MSP) was taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
MSP is the rate at which the government buys food grains from farmers. At present, the government fixes the MSP for 23 crops grown in both Kharif and Rabi seasons.
Sowing of Rabi (winter) crops starts from October immediately after the harvesting of Kharif (summer) crops. Wheat and mustard are the main Rabi crops.
According to an official release, the CCEA has approved the increase in MSP for six rabi crops for the 2021-22 crop year (July-June) and the 2022-23 marketing season.
The MSP of wheat for this crop year has been increased by ₹40 to ₹2,015 per quintal from ₹1,975 per quintal in the 2020-21 crop year.
The production cost of wheat is estimated to be Rs 1,008 per quintal, the release said.
According to official data, the government has made a record procurement of over 43 million tonnes of wheat during the 2021-22 rabi marketing season.
The support price of barley has been increased by Rs 35 to Rs 1,635 per quintal for the 2021-22 crop year from Rs 1,600 per quintal in the previous year.
Among pulses, the MSP for gram has been increased from ₹130 to ₹5,230 per quintal, while that for masoor (lentils) has been increased from ₹400 to ₹5,500 per quintal, which is ₹5,100 per quintal.
In the case of oilseeds, the government has increased the MSP for mustard seeds by Rs 400 to Rs 5,050 per quintal for the 2021-22 crop year, from Rs 4,650 per quintal in the previous year.
The MSP of safflower has been increased by ₹114 to ₹5,441 per quintal from ₹5,327 per quintal.
“The government has increased the MSP of rabi crops for the 2022-23 rabi marketing season to ensure remunerative prices to the growers for their produce,” the release said.
The government said that the increase in the MSP of rabi crops for the marketing season of 2022-23 is in line with the announcement of the Union Budget 2018-19, which announced to fix the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times the average cost of production. Has been. Fair remuneration to farmers “The expected return to farmers on their cost of production is estimated to be highest in the case of wheat and mustard (100% each), followed by lentils (79%), gram (74%); barley (60 %) and Kusum (50%), it added.
The government also said that concerted efforts were made in the last few years to realign the MSP in favor of oilseeds, pulses and coarse cereals to encourage farmers to shift to larger area under these crops and Best techniques and farming practices can be adopted to meet the demand. Supply imbalance.
Additionally, a central scheme – National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) – recently announced by the government will help increase domestic production of edible oils and reduce import dependence.
With a total outlay of Rs 11,040 crore for NMEO-OP, the scheme will not only aid in expansion and productivity of the area, but will also benefit the farmers from their income and generation of additional employment.
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