Centre's 5-crop MSP proposal: Why Punjab farmers are reluctant to diversify

As Centre proposes purchase of alternative crops at MSP, a look at why Punjab farmers are reluctant to diversify

A few days ago, a central team of ministers held out a carrot to protesting farmers to break the stalemate in talks.
 

They proposed to purchase the entire lot of masoor, urad, arhar, maize and cotton over the next five years at minimum support price (MSP) under a contractual agreement.
 

The purchases will be made through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India, the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India and the Cotton Corporation of India.
 

And the sellers would be farmers who diversify from wheat and paddy.
 

Whether the purchases will be limited to just that cohort or