Here’s What Agriculture Ministry Told Rajya Sabha When MSP Was Demanded For Horticulture Crops

In the wake of changing weather patterns adversely affecting farmers’ yields across the country, Venkatramana Rao Mopidev, a Member of Parliament from the Rajya Sabha, on July 21, questioned the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare about the possibility of declaring minimum support price [MSP] for horticulture crops.

“...whether Government intends to provide Minimum Support Price (MSP) and mandatory procurement on horticulture products produced in the country since unlike foodgrains, horticulture crops do not enjoy a safety net contributing to the risk undertaken by the horticulture farmers,” Mopidev asked.

The question was answered by the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Nath Tomar who mentioned that the inclusion of crops under the MSP framework is dependent on several factors which include relatively large shelf life, are non- perishable, are widely grown, and are items of mass consumption and are essential for food security.

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“Moreover, agricultural and horticultural crops for which MSP is not fixed and are generally perishable in nature, are covered under Market Intervention Scheme (MIS),” Tomar told the Rajya Sabha.

Notably, on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and after considering the views of State and Central governments, the government has fixed minimum support prices for 22 mandated agricultural crops.

Tomar also informed the Upper House that the MIS is implemented at the request of a state or a Union Territory which is ready to bear 50 per cent of the loss (25 percent in case of North Eastern States), if any, incurred on its implementation.

He stated that the objective of this intervention is to protect the farmers who grow such commodities from distress sale in the event of a bumper crop during the peak arrival period when the prices tend to fall below economic levels and cost of production.

Demand for MSP on horticulture crops

Talking to Gaon Connection, Janardan Verma, a mentha farmer from Lalapur village of Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki, said that the prices of Mentha crop is constantly decreasing while the cost of production is getting pricier every year.

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“Fertilisers, seeds and labour charges have increased manifold in the last 10 years. Earlier, the Mentha oil was sold at Rs 2,000 per kilogramme but now it is hardly being sold at Rs 1,000 so if the government declares a minimum support price on the mentha crop, it would be beneficial for the farmers,” Verma said.

Also, Anil Verma, president of Bhartiya Kisan Union Tikait Mandal, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh also stated that the mentha farmers in the state have been demanding an MSP for mentha for years.

“The government should set a minimum support price for it because the market prices are making it unsustainable for the farmers to grow mentha,” the farmer leader mentioned.

With inputs by Virendra Singh from Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh