Amid the on-going farmers’ protest over legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP), a group of farmer organisations led by V M Singh and Raju Shetty under “MSP Guarantee Kisan Morcha” has also sought expansion of the crops covered under the legal framework of the benchmark rates. Currently, the Centre fixes the MSPs for 22 crops and the fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane every year. While the FRP is mandatory only for the sugar mills and not for jaggery or other producers, the MSPs of 22 crops are voluntary for the buyers.

Expanding MSP

Asked if the suggestion to expand the MSP to horticulture crops does not dilute the main demand of a legal guarantee, Singh said: “We want both, legal MSP as well as its expansion to cover milk, fruits and vegetables. There are many places where milk prices are very cheap and ensuring a minimum price will help address the issue of stray cattle that damage crops.”

He also said that the government should not take a plea that legal guarantee of MSP will inflate food prices since rates of all other commodities (like gold) and income from other sources have increased manifold in last 70 years.

Singh also agreed with a suggestion to make MSP the reserve price of auction from which the trade can take place in agriculture market yards (mandis). “If that happens, it is same as legal guarantee,” he added.

The Doubling Farmers’ Income (DFI) committee in its report had suggested that the price quotes by those participating in the auction of an agricultural produce lot at the mandis should not begin below the cost of production. This should be treated as the minimum reserve price (MRP) and such a provision needs to be introduced into the State APMC Acts by an amendment, it had noted.

‘Bring in transparency’

Demanding that the next round of meeting with farmer leaders, scheduled on March 19, be video recorded, Singh said there should be transparency in the discussion as all parties had termed the meeting as fruitful and positive.

However, he lamented that the Centre is not holding the discussion with them, but also said they would not start the protest again. “Farmers’ resentment has to be felt by the government and if that gets accumulated over the years, that will be reflected in the ballot one day,” Singh said.