Cabinet Approves Minimum Support Price Hike For Kharif Crops
The highest absolute increase in MSP over the previous year has been recommended for sesamum, followed by tur and urad.
The Union Cabinet has approved an increase in minimum support prices for all mandated kharif crops for marketing season 2021-22.
The government has increased the MSP of kharif crops to ensure remunerative prices to growers for their produce, according to a statement released by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
The price hike ranged from 1-6.6% across crops.
The highest absolute increase in MSP over the previous year has been recommended for sesamum, followed by tur and urad, the release said. The differential remuneration is aimed at encouraging crop diversification.
The increase, according to the release, is in line with the union budget FY19 announcement of fixing MSPs at a level of at least 1.5 times of all-India weighted average cost of production, aiming at reasonably fair remuneration for the farmers.
Devendra Pant, chief economist at India Ratings, said the hikes are broadly in line with those seen in recent years. Higher prices faced by consumers of some of the food items continue to not benefit farmers. A sound storage system might further help to protect farmer incomes and help build rural demand, he said.