Government Increased MSP In Range Of 40-70% For All Crops

Union Minister Hardeep S Puri has said that the Government has not only implemented the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee to increase MSP to 1.5 times of the cost of production but it increased MSP in the range of 40-70% in case of all crops and expenditure of procurement at MSP increased by 85% in 2014-19 from 2009-14.

He added that the budget of the Department of Agriculture has gone up six times in as many years. Puri informed that MSP is an administrative mechanism and added that the laws specifically provide layers of protection for our farmers, giving them legal safeguards to counter any unwarranted claims of corporates. He further said that the Government has clearly stated in the laws that such acquisition or leasing of land of our farmers will not be allowed in any case. He said that our farmers are the stewards of land, soil and forests and land is truly like their mother. They have dedicated their lives, blood and sweat to its care. He emphasizes that Government would not allow anyone to come and take their land from them.

Hardeep S Puri said that the Amul co-operative success has shown that despite the fragmented small scale producer system that might be present in a sector, people can come together to create a raging success story. He added that today, Amul is not just producing milk, but much of its revenue comes from processed foods exported worldwide. This is the kind of success story we want for our farmers through these reforms. He added that government has created 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations which bring small and marginal farmers together and give them access to social capital, information and negotiating power.

Puri said that Punjab and Haryana account for around 30% of the national food production and around 70% of our MSP procurement happens from these states.