Badal terms paddy MSP hike 'meagre, inadequate'

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday termed the hike in MSP of paddy announced by the central government as "meagre and inadequate" and urged it to set up an expert group to make agriculture a remunerative preposition.

"Farmers of the country were facing an acute crisis and the government of India was duty-bound to bail out the food growers of nation from it. Farmers of Punjab need special attention. The expert group must suggest ways and means to ensure that farming was made a profitable venture," Badal told media on sidelines of his 'Sangat Darshan' programme in Shahura village in Amritsar district.

Terming that the "meagre" hike in Minimum Support Price (MSP) of paddy as "too inadequate to bail out farmers from agrarian crisis", he sought an immediate review by the central government.

Strongly pleading for implementation of recommendations of farm economist M.S Swaminathan, especially related to MSP, Badal said that farmers need to be helped as agriculture was becoming a loss-making activity.

"Green Revolution" state Punjab, with just 1.54 per cent of the country's geographical area, contributes over 50 per cent of the total food grains to the national kitty.

--IANS

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