Not in favour of reduction in minimum support price for crops: Gadkari

In a complete reversal from his previous statement on MSP, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said he is not in favour of a reduction in the minimum support price (MSP) for crops. His comments come just two days after he criticised the government's MSP for agricultural crops being way too higher than the domestic and international rates.

The minister of Road Transport & Highways and MSME said he has always stood and advocated looking for various ways and means to increase farmers' income, including through alternative usage of their crops like paddy/rice, wheat, sugarcane.

In an official statement, the minister went on to assert that he himself was present when increase in minimum support price was announced, hence there was no question of him standing for MSP reduction.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari, last Thursday said that the government's minimum support prices for agriculture crops are way higher then domestic market prices and international rate and stressed the need to find alternative solutions before an "economic crisis" is created.

While the government fixes the rate, called minimum support price or MSP, at which it buys crops such as wheat and paddy from farmers, it also provides a subsidy to help export sugar.

 

"The most important problem in this sector is that (among) the international price for agriculture commodities and the market price and the MSP, there is a vast difference. Now there are a lot of problems, some political problems are also there. It is very difficult for the government to take decisions.

"But the ground reality is that our MSP is higher than the market price and international price. So this is now going to create a big economic crisis for the country.

"We need to find out some options, alternatives for that, and without resolving that issue in agriculture, we cannot accelerate our economy because maximum purchasing power where we need to increase the potential in agriculture," Gadkari said in a webinar.