Weighing the pros and cons of the call for making MSP a legal right

Making purchases below the minimm support price unlawful might at best help a limited set of farmers, but it could also end up hurting a large section of the population

As farmers in several parts of the country protest against the new farm bills, a key demand many of them are making is the inclusion of minimum support price (MSP) as a legal right in legislation. Such a move would prohibit any purchase below this level, both inside and outside the mandis, and would regard all such transactions as unlawful.

The MSP or minimum support price is the floor price that the Central government fixes every year for the kharif and rabi seasons, for as many as 23 crops.

The floor price is fixed in order to provide scope for