'Pay farmers cash for inaccessibility to support price'

The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), the government’s chief advisory body on price policy for farm produce, is considering recommending cash compensation to those unable to take advantage of the state’s crop support price.

“There are places where government’s own procurement infrastructure is poor and lacking. We not only want that to be improved, but also feel farmers need to be compensated if the government machinery or private parties have repeatedly failed to purchase produce. MSP (Minimum Support Price) is the first legitimate right of the farmer. If that does not happen, how can we expect farmers to adopt new technologies?”Ashok Gulati, the new CACP chairman, told Business Standard.

Till recently Director in Asia for the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), he said sunflower production in Punjab rose sharply because of higher MSP, but there was no government back-up, because of which prices dropped below the support price.

Though the government announces an MSP for as many as 25 agricultural commodities, including staples like wheat and paddy (de-husked rice), many are redundant, as there is no procurement policy or state purchase. In paddy, though every year the support price is raised, many growers aren’t benefited, as the state’s procurement arm is weak.

Gulati said the Commission plans to take into account factors such as efficiency of the Food Corporation of India’s (FCI) operations in that farm produce, whether the state government purchases it or if the procurement can be outsourced to private companies.

“If none of the ways to ensure procurement is possible, farmers need to be compensated adequately, preferably in cash. This could be an option. CACP has to look into all these and make recommendations,” Gulati said.

He added that MSP should give maximum benefit to growers. The idea should be ensure a fallback option for farmers,” Gulati said.