MSP for all crops to take longer, no consensus

New Delhi: Having announced the ambitious move of providing an increase in the minimum support price (MSP) to 1.5 times the production cost of all crops in Union Budget 2018-19, which will lead to doubling of their income in the long run, the Centre is now trying hard to build a consensus over the issue as several farmers’ leaders and organisations have indicated the concept will take some more time to fructify.

The Niti Aayog held a high-level meeting with several farmers’ organisations and farmer leaders on Thursday to thrash out a solution on providing MSP for procurement of all agriculture produce by private traders.

With the farmers’ unrest emerging as one of the major electoral planks for the Opposition to target the Centre and the sowing season for kharif crops already started, the government seems to be struggling to finalise the MSP for agricultural produce at which private traders will procure it.

Sources told this newspaper that no concrete solution could be reached at the meeting as all farmers’ leaders and organisations said as of now it would not be possible to finalise MSP for all crops.

They mainly asked the government to directly procure agricultural produce from farmers and remove all middlemen and private agents, and ensure that payment to farmers for their produce is made within 24 hours.

Niti Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar, who convened the meeting, is learnt to have told all farmers’ representatives that he would convey their demands to the Centre and there was a likelihood that another meeting with them may be called soon to find a way to decide upon the MSP for all crops.

Sensing that the rural votebank of the BJP was rapidly shifting, the government has started a major effort to reach out to the farming community and rural poor as the 2019 Lok Sabha elections are just nine months away.

Interestingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet sugarcane farmers at his residence on Friday. Official sources said the government interventions and initiatives for the sugarcane sector may come up at the meeting.

To help loss-making sugar mills pay sugarcane growers, the Centre has taken various initiatives in the last five months, including doubling of import duty on sugar to 100 per cent, scrapping of export duty and the announcement of a Rs 8,500-crore package.