Badal seeks higher MSP for 2015-16 rabi season

The Punjab CM seeks an upward revision in MSP of wheat and barley to Rs 1,900 and Rs 1,517 a quintal, respectively

The Punjab government on Thursday asked the Centre to fix the minimum support price (MSP) of various crops for the 2015-16 rabi season at the levels suggested by it.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said the MSP of crops recommended by the Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) in view of burgeoning central pool stock and double-digit inflation was far lower than the prices suggested by the state and did not even cover the cost of cultivation of crops.

Seeking an increase in the MSP of wheat from Rs 1,450 a quintal, as recommended by CACP, to Rs 1,900 a quintal in 2015-16, Badal also sought an upward revision in the MSP of barley from Rs 1,150 to Rs 1,517 a quintal. Likewise, he demanded the MSP of gram to be hiked from Rs 3,175 to Rs 3,627 a quintal and that of rapeseed and mustard from Rs 3,100 to Rs 3,484 a quintal.

The chief minister further said it was unfair to penalise farmers with a lower increase in MSP due to a situation caused by mismanagement of food. Badal said even the National Farmers' Commission had recommended a margin of 50 per cent over and above the cost of cultivation to make the MSP remunerative whereas CACP had recommended an increase of only 3.6 per cent in the MSP of wheat, which was the major rabi crop of the state and occupied about 85 per cent of the cultivated area during the rabi season.

Badal further said the costs of agricultural inputs such as fertilisers, seeds and labour had increased significantly, which led to a considerable increase in the cost of production. He said that the cost of diesel had been increasing regularly due to deregularisation of prices.

The cost of irrigation was also continuously showing an upward revision due to the lowering of the water table and, thereby, there was an increased investment in the deepening of tube wells and replacement of prime movers. The prevailing drought-like situation during the monsoon season had further aggravated the situation.

Badal has deputed Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal to pursue the matter with Ashish Bahuguna, secretary of agriculture, government of india, and to impress upon the Centre the need for an upward revision in the MSP of rabi crops recommended by the CACP.