MSP increase not enough to make farmers shift from paddy and wheat

Wheat and paddy farmers unlikely to shift to water-thrifty crops without better return

The Centre hiked the minimum support price (MSP) of main kharif crops last week, but the maximum increases were reserved for pulses and oilseeds, in order to encourage farmers to move away from wheat and paddy and opt for pulses and oilseeds instead. 

Data shows that though both the acreage and production of pulses and oilseeds have risen significantly in the last few years, it has not come at the cost of rice and wheat production.

Between 2014-15 and 2020-21 (July to June), when the MSP of paddy (common) was hiked by almost 37 per cent, the acreage under the