NEW DELHI: A number of farmer organisations, joining hands under umbrella outfit, Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), have rejected the new minimum support prices (MSPs) for Rabi crops for 2027-28, announced by the govt on Sept 30, saying that the Rs 25-per-quintal hike in the MSP for wheat—equivalent to just 25 paise per kilogram—is an insult.The farm group also called for an immediate revision of the MSPs for all Rabi crops, including wheat, and demanded that states be given full freedom to provide bonuses.Referring to the hike, the farm group said, “25 paise a kilo is not a price it is an insult…Yet the government calls it a 106% profit (return over the cost of production).”Alleging that the states’ price recommendations were bulldozed by the Centre and the Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP), the SKM flagged that the increase in the diesel prices and other input costs were ignored while arriving at the cost of production.Noting that the price of diesel, which powers every tractor and pump set, was hiked four times in ten days in May, by about Rs 7.50 a litre, the SKM also demanded a rollback of the increase in diesel prices.Factoring in the deficient monsoon rainfall this year, the Centre last Wednesday announced new MSPs with focus on better hike to low water-consuming oilseeds, pulses and coarse grain so that farmers may opt for these crops over the most popular winter crop, wheat, whose new MSP at Rs 2,610 per quintal for 2027-28 got an increase of less than 1% over the existing support price of Rs 2,585 per quintal in 2026-27.The absolute highest increase in MSP was announced for Safflower (oilseeds) at Rs 675 per quintal followed by Rapeseed & Mustard (oilseeds) at Rs 413 per quintal. For Lentil (Masur), barley (coarse grain), and gram, there is an increase of Rs 390 per quintal, Rs 136 per quintal and Rs 83 per quintal, respectively.The Union agriculture ministry noted that the expected margin over cost of production, as calculated by the CACP, is the highest (106%) for wheat, followed by 96% for rapeseed & mustard; 92% for lentil; 59% for gram; 58% for barley; and 50% for safflower.Agriculture expert and former member of the Uttar Pradesh Planning Commission, Sudhir Panwar, however, questioned the hike, saying it is lower than inflation in input costs. “This suggests that the govt rejected the norm of providing a 50% profit on input costs under the guise of diversification,” he said.The new MSP for the Rabi marketing season, beginning April 1 next year, will give a signal to farmers for their choice of crops during the upcoming sowing season, which is expected to face challenges of low moisture content in the soil and less water availability for irrigation due to deficient monsoon rainfall.The govt claimed that the increase in MSPs of all six Rabi crops is in sync with the Union Budget 2018-19 announcement of fixing the support price at a level of at least 1.5 times of the All-India weighted average Cost of Production, ensuring minimum 50% return over the cost of production.
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The cost, as calculated by the CACP, includes all paid out costs such as those incurred on account of hired human labour, bullock labour/machine labour, rent paid for leased in land, expenses incurred on use of material inputs like seeds, fertilizers, manures, irrigation charges, depreciation on implements and farm buildings, interest on working capital, diesel/electricity for operation of pump sets etc., miscellaneous expenses and imputed value of family labour. It is called A2+FL methodology, which means paid-out cost of cultivation plus the imputed value of family labour.SKM, however, has been demanding the comprehensive cost (C2 methodology) that should also include the rental value of the family’s own land and the interest on its own capital, and a legally guaranteed MSP at C2+50%.Giving a call for protests against the new MSP, the SKM on Saturday urged farmers and youth of rural India to burn copies of the recent order on the hike in every village, saying it will go on until a legal MSP at C2+50% is won.