Cabinet approves hike in MSP for all Kharif crops

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved the increase in minimum support prices (MSPs) for all Kharif crops for 2019-20 season, a move that will lead to increased investment and production through assured remunerative prices to the farmers.

For the Kharif crops, the MSP of soyabean has been hiked by Rs 311 per quintal, sunflower by Rs 262 per quintal and sesamum by Rs 236 per quintal.

The MSP of tur dal has been increased by Rs 125 per quintal and urad dal by Rs 100 per quintal. This will help address the issues related to the requirement of pulses in view of the need to meet the nutritional security and protein requirements of a large section of the population.

The MSP of jowar has been hiked by Rs 120 per quintal. In the case of ragi, it has been hiked by Rs 253 per quintal. This will promote the cultivation and consumption of nutrient-cereals.

Besides, India celebrated 2018 as the National Year of Millets and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Council has approved India's proposal to observe an International Year of Millets in 2023.

For cotton (medium staple) and cotton (long staple), the MSP has been increased by Rs 105 per quintal and Rs 100 per quintal.

The highest percentage return to farmers over their cost of production is for bajra (85 per cent) followed by urad (64 per cent) and tur (60 per cent), according to an official statement.

The increase in MSP for Kharif crops is in line with the principle of fixing the MSPs at a level of at least 1.5 times of the all India weighted average cost of production which was announced in the Union Budget for 2018-19.