Centre sets up MSP panel

Tags: National Economy/Finance

On July 18, the Centre constituted a committee under the chairmanship of former Union Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal to look into the issues of Minimum Support Price (MSP) promised to the United Kisan Morcha (SKM) in January 2022.

Important facts

• The government has made a provision to include three members from the United Kisan Morcha (SKM) in the committee, but the agriculture organization is yet to announce any names to be part of the panel.

• Under the umbrella of the United Kisan Morcha, thousands of farmers had agitated on the borders of Delhi for almost a year and forced the government to withdraw farm laws.

• Announcing the repeal of three agriculture laws in November last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to set up a committee to discuss farmers' demand for a legal guarantee on MSP.

Who will be part of the panel?

• Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand

• Agri-economists CSC Shekhar from Indian Institute of Economic Development

• Sukhpal Singh from IIM- Ahmedabad

• Senior member of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) Naveen P Singh

Farmer representatives of the panel

• National award-winning farmer Bharat Bhushan Tyagi

• Three members from SKM

• Five members - from other farmer organisations include Gunwant Patil, Krishnaveer Choudhary, Pramod Kumar Choudhary, Guni Prakash and Sayyed Pasha Patel.

• Kisan Sahakari and two members of the group include IFFCO Chairman Dilip Sanghani and CNRI General Secretary Binod Anand will also be part of the committee.

• Senior members from agricultural universities, five central government secretaries and chief secretaries of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Odisha will also be part of the committee.

What will the panel do?

• Will suggest measures to make MSP available to farmers by making them effective and transparent.

• To give more autonomy to the Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP).

• Strategise to turn Krishi Vigyan Kendras and other research institutes into knowledge centres for natural farming.

• Suggesting setting up of laboratory chain for organic certification

• To suggest a system that ensures remunerative prices to farmers for the sale of the new crop.

• Mapping of existing cropping patterns of producer and consumer states. 

What is Minimum Support Price (MSP)?

• MSP is the rate at which the government buys food grains from farmers.

• This is based on the calculation of at least one and a half times the cost of production incurred by the farmers.

• The Government of India fixes the MSP for 24 items twice a year.

• When the market price falls below the declared MSP, the government buys food grains from the farmers at the MSP rate.