MSP

Things are in place for a good rabi harvest. But farmers must contend with poor prices for their kharif harvest. And that may have a knock-on effect on rabi prices in a vicious cycle

CACP has proposed oil-linked MSP for mustard and safflower to incentivise high-yield varieties, reduce edible oil imports, and improve farmers' returns

The government on Wednesday announced a 6.59 per cent increase in the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat to Rs 2,585 per quintal for the 2026-27 marketing year, up from Rs 2,425 per quintal last year. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Briefing the media, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Cabinet had approved the MSP for six rabi crops for 2026-27 based on recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). In absolute terms, the highest increase has been announced for safflower at Rs 600 per quintal, followed by lentil (masur) at Rs 300 per quintal. For rapeseed and mustard, the increase is Rs 250 per quintal; gram Rs 225 per quintal; barley Rs 170 per quintal; and wheat Rs 160 per quintal. The MSP for barley has been increased to Rs 2,150 per quintal from Rs 1,980 per quintal. Among key rabi pulses, the support price for gram has been fixed at Rs 5,875 per quintal, up from

The committee on Minimum Support Price (MSP), headed by former agriculture secretary Sanjay Agrawal, has held 45 meetings so far, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Friday in Rajya Sabha. The committee was established in July 2022, eight months after the government promised to set up such a panel while withdrawing the three contentious farm laws. "Overall, 45 meetings, including 39 sub-committee/ sub-group meetings have been held till date," Chouhan said in his written reply to the Upper House. The minister asserted that the government is committed that the full benefits of MSP reach the farmers of the country. The minister explained that the committee was constituted to give suggestions on making the MSP system more effective and transparent. Additionally, the committee was asked to examine the feasibility of giving greater autonomy to the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and ways to make it more scientific. "With a view to ensuring higher pric

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan says tenant farmers can now access Fasal Bima and MSP schemes if authorised by landowners, marking a policy shift

In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi cited a media report that claimed 767 farmers in Maharashtra have taken their own lives in just three months

The least hikes in percentage terms was reserved for paddy which is the main foodgrain crop grown during the kharif season

With record rice stockpiles, the Cabinet has limited the paddy MSP hike to 3 per cent, while offering higher increases for tur, ragi, oilseeds, and cotton

As of now, paddy has the largest area under cultivation in India, and agricultural input subsidies are skewed towards paddy production

Pre-buying ahead of TREM V norms, rising construction activity to fuel demand; margins remain stable

"Preparations have already started for the purchase of mustard and gram at the support price for the Rabi season 2025-26," a cooperative department official said

What India needs is to incentivise private procurement, promote crop diversification, and focus on agricultural research

The Haryana government on Wednesday said it has raised limits of average production per acre for Rabi crops for 2024-25, a move which will enable farmers to sell more yields at a minimum support price. The revised limits will be implemented in the Rabi procurement season of 2025-26. The move will directly benefit farmers who, due to higher yields than the previously set limits, were unable to sell their crops at the minimum support price (MSP), an official statement said. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini approved the increased caps after a committee set up by the government recommend changes in the production limits for Rabi crops. The average production cap for barley has been increased from 15 quintals to 16 quintals per acre, for gram it has been raised from 5 quintals to 6 quintals per acre, while for sunflower from 8 quintals to 9 quintals per acre. In addition, the average production limit for summer moong crop has been raised from 3 quintals to 4 quintals per acre. The ...

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that the state cabinet gave its approval to fix Rs 900 per quintal as the minimum support price for potatoes. "We have decided to fix the new minimum support price (MSP) for potatoes at Rs 900 per quintal to help the farmers. This will also ensure that they do not have to resort to distress sale of their produce," Banerjee said at a press conference at the state secretariat. She also criticised the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for releasing water without informing her government and thus damaging the crops (potatoes) in the fields. "The state government has created a corpus of Rs 321 crore for providing crop insurance to the farmers," she said, adding that her government would purchase somewhat damaged potatoes from the farmers to ensure that they do not face any loss. The cabinet also decided that the inauguration of the Jagannath Temple at the popular coastal town of Digha in Purba Medinipur district will be held on .

This meeting was the second between the central ministers and the farmers, following a previous session held on February 14 in Chandigarh

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi met a section of farmers in Chandigarh

Punjab farmer leaders on Saturday said the Union Budget was "disappointing" for the farming community as it did not give a legal guarantee on minimum support price for crops. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday presented her eighth budget in Parliament in Delhi. Sitharaman announced six new agricultural schemes while increasing the subsidised Kisan Credit Card loan limit to Rs 5 lakh from the existing Rs 3 lakh, which will impact 7.7 crore farmers, fishermen and dairy farmers. Farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said raising the credit card loan limit will increase the debt burden further on farmers. The agrarian crisis will not be resolved by making farmers more indebted but by making farmers self-reliant by legally guaranteeing MSP on crops by passing a law. Protesting farmers have been demanding a law that legally assures the sale of farm produce at least at the MSP. Kohar said the Budget failed to live up to the expectations of the farming community. He said the ...

The state government has set up 2,058 cooperative societies and 2,739 paddy procurement centres where farmers can sell their yield

The Haryana government has notified the procurement of 24 crops at a minimum support price (MSP), extending the list of 14 farm produces that were earlier eligible for guaranteed rates under public procurement system. The state cabinet of the previous government, which was also headed by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, already approved the proposal of buying 10 additional crops at MSP. The decision on MSP for additional crops was announced on August 5, months before the assembly polls in October. Till August, government agencies used to procure 14 crops at MSP. According the latest notification dated December 19, the then Council of Ministers, in its meeting held on August 5, decided to purchase ragi, soybean, nigerseed, safflower, barley, maize, jowar, jute, copra and summer moong at the minimum support price. The notification said, this was in addition to the crops that were already being procured, including paddy, bajra, kharif moong, urd, arhar, wheat and mustard. While ...

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Wednesday said farmers have given a call for 'Punjab bandh' on December 30 as he slammed the Centre for not accepting the demands of protesting farmers. Pandher said the decision to give the 'bandh' call was taken by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha. "There will be a complete 'bandh' on December 30," said Pandher. Addressing the media in Amritsar, Pandher said emergency services will remain operational during the 'bandh'. He appealed to people, including traders, businessmen, transporters to make the 'bandh' successful. "Like the 'Rail Roko' protest was a success. Similarly, the Punjab bandh should also be made successful," he said. Train services in Punjab were affected as farmers squatted on rail tracks at more than 50 places on Wednesday as part of their three-hour 'Rail Roko' protest to press the Centre into accepting their various demands, including a legally binding minimum support price for crops. Acco