Accusing Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan of ducking a question in the Rajya Sabha on introducing a legal guarantee for minimum support prices (MSPs) for all crops, a major demand of farmers’ organisations, Opposition leaders strongly registered their protests, leading to noisy scenes in the Upper House on July 26.
The question was posed by Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman, who asked “whether the government is contemplating to bring legislation to provide legal guarantee of MSP to farmers...” In response, the Agriculture Minister listed the steps taken by the government for the welfare of farmers and spoke about the committee looking into strengthening the MSP system, but stopped short of talking about a legal guarantee for crop support prices.
Congress MPs, including Randeep Surjewala and Jairam Ramesh, protested, saying that Mr. Chouhan’s reply was incomplete. Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar’s exhortations for order had little effect, with vociferous protests from the Opposition. The Chairman named some of the Congress MPs, including Mr. Surjewala, asking them to withdraw from the House for the remainder of the day.
Opposition members, however, refused to relent and continued to shout slogans, disrupting proceedings for a few more minutes.
Six-pronged strategy
On the question of whether the government plans to give a legal guarantee of MSP to farmers or not, the Agriculture Minister only said it is continuously working towards farmers’ welfare. The MSP rates have been increased regularly to give proper prices to farmers, he added.
The government has a six-pronged strategy to give appropriate MSP to farmers, Mr. Chouhan said, including increasing farm production, reducing the cost of production, giving appropriate prices of the produce, compensating for loss due to natural calamities, diversification of agriculture, and organic farming.
Amid sloganeering by Opposition party members, he said, “We have given twice the MSP rates as compared to when (Randeep) Surjewala’s government was in power”, in an apparent reference to the Congress-led government.
Agri marketing revamp
The Minister said the Modi government sets MSPs by adding 50% profit to the cost of production. Mr. Chouhan said the panel has been formed to give suggestions on making the MSP system more effective and transparent. Additionally, he said, the committee has been asked to examine the feasibility of giving greater autonomy to the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) which sets MSPs, and ways to make the process more scientific.
To ensure higher prices of crops for farmers, a mandate has also been given to the committee to suggest steps for strengthening the agricultural marketing system in line with the changing needs of the country. This committee is also working on issues like natural farming and crop diversification, the Minister said.
The meetings of this committee are being organised regularly. Since July 22, 2022, the committee has met six times. Additionally, 35 meetings of various sub-committees have also been held. “Whenever the panel submits its report, the government will examine it,” Mr. Chouhan said.
Published - July 26, 2024 09:39 pm IST
