Fix MSP taking state specific issues into account: Fadnavis

Stating that calculating MSP of farm commodities is a complex issue, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said the Centre should take the state specific issues into account while fixing the minimum support price (MSP).
The CM said that the issue of farmers' suicides in the state was "a legacy inherited by his government" and he does not want to blame anyone.
Fadnavis also emphasised on the need to increase agri- investments rather than rolling out subsidies, which are temporary and short-term solutions.
"The MSP is a major support for farmers... While calculating MSP, state specific things should also be taken into consideration.

"It is a complex issue and I don't see a quick fix solution but in any case we will have to come to a solution," Fadnavis said at the WEF meeting here.
Citing an example on the way cotton MSP is fixed, he said the Centre takes into account the average input cost while determining the support price of cotton.

There are about nine cotton sowing states.
Cotton productivity is less in Maharashtra as compared with Gujarat, but input cost is more.
He added: "Each state sends a proposal and then average price is decided. That might be good for Gujarat and not for me. That is a major issue. Unless, we have incompatibility in input costs, I think this problem of MSP cannot be addressed."

To a query related to farmer suicides in the state, Fadnavis said that there was a legacy inherited by his government, adding "I don't want to blame anyone".
He said that the developmental initiatives undertaken by the state government such as 'Jalyukt Shivar Yojna' will ensure assured irrigation to the farmers and link farmers to the post-harvest supply chains.
"Approximately 5,00,000 farmers have already been integrated with the supply chain through these initiatives and the state government looks forward to up-scaling the numbers to 2.5 million over the next 5 years," he said in a statement issued by CII.
Speaking about MSP, Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said, "I totally agree that the Swaminathan formula (MSP) of 50 per cent over and above the cost is meagre."

MSP has led to a lopsided expansion of certain crops - rice and wheat, she said, adding, "My state is not even a rice eating state and that which is needed in the south, we have depleted our water for cultivating maximum amount of rice. The thing has to be rethought of."
MSP is the price fixed by the Centre to protect farmers against sharp fall in rates.
The Centre announces MSP for 25 commodities taking into account various factors like cost of production, demand and supply situation, among others.