India Announces Modest Hikes In MSP For All Kharif Crops In FY20
The government has raised minimum support prices for all kharif crops after a slow start to sowing due to delayed monsoon.
The Indian government on Wednesday increased the minimum support prices for all kharif crops for 2019-20 amid a slow start to the sowing season due to the delayed onset of monsoon.
“Farming is the backbone of our agriculture-based economy,” Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. “The prime minister is worried for the farming sector and the government is working towards achieving the goal of doubling farm incomes by 2022.”
The MSP hike applies to the following kharif crops:
- The MSP for paddy was increased by Rs 65 per quintal.
- MSP for jowar was increased by Rs 120 per quintal, while for ragi it was raised by Rs 253 per quintal.
- MSP of tur, moong and urad was raised by Rs 125, Rs 75 and Rs 100, respectively.
- MSP of groundnut was hiked by Rs 200 per quintal while that of soyabean was raised Rs 311 per quintal.
- For medium cotton, the minimum prices were raised Rs 105 per quintal; long cotton MSP was raised by Rs 100 per quintal.
Wednesday’s MSP hike is, however, lower than the increase the government had announced in 2018-19.
A lacklustre start to the southwest monsoon season—that accounts for over 70 percent of India’s annual rainfall—has forced farmers to delay planting. A strong revival in monsoon in July along with a good spatial distribution is needed to ensure that overall output during the kharif season is not hurt significantly, a research note Edwelweiss said earlier.
According to IDFC Bank report by Indranil Pan and Gaura Sen Gupta, the delay in monsoon has hit sowing of pulses, coarse cereals and cotton the most.
Other Cabinet decisions: