Modi government and farmers: Paddy prices increased by more than Rs 600 in 8 years, know MSP of other Kharif crops

Agriculture

oi-Jyoti Bhaskar

New Delhi, 09 June : After coming to power in May 2014, the central government continuously claims to stand for the farmers. The Central Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has increased the Minimum Support Price (MSP) several times during the years 2014-15 and 2022-23. Now that it was announced to increase the MSP of Kharif crops on 8th June, it is quite interesting to know how much the prices of different Kharif crops have increased during the last 8 years. The government itself has explained the difference in the increase in MSP through graphics.

Readers decide for themselves

With the help of these figures released by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), understand, will the income of farmers really double by this year i.e. 2022? In this report, OneIndia Hindi is presenting some views of people who understand agriculture and economy as a whole. On the basis of this, readers can understand how successful the Modi government has been in the last 8 years in getting the right price for the crops of the farmers. read special report

What is the MSP of crops?

MSP stands for Minimum Support Price. Minimum Support Price in Hindi. This price is fixed by the government so that the farmers are not forced to sell their crops in the market at a price below the cost. The MSP of most of the crops is fixed by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices. Sugarcane Commission has been constituted for the MSP of sugarcane.

How much is the income of farmers?

According to the data of the 70th National Sampus Survey (NSS) in the year 2012-13, the annual income of agricultural households in the country was Rs 77,112. 6426 in total in the month; In this, Rs 3081 was earned from crop production, and Rs 763 from animal husbandry. In the 77th NSS in 2018-19, the annual income of a family was estimated at Rs 1,22,616. 10,218 for the month. In this, Rs 3798 was earned from crop production. 1582 from animal husbandry. On this basis, the income from animal husbandry has increased significantly by Rs 763 in six years.

The committee was constituted by the Government of India in the year 2015 under the chairmanship of Ashok Dalwai. This committee was to suggest which measures and policies with the help of which farmers’ income can be doubled by 2022. In October 2021, Alok Ranjan, former chief secretary of the Uttar Pradesh government, said in an article published in DailyPioneer that according to the report of Ashok Dalwai’s committee, doubling farmers’ income depends on several factors. like-

• increase in crop productivity
• increase in livestock productivity
• Bringing in resource use efficiency or saving in production costs
• Increase in cropping intensity
• Diversification in high value crops

Private company and government invested money

Apart from this, increase in real prices for the farmer and options for switching to non-agricultural occupations other than farming were also given. Alok Ranjan says that most of the suggestions in the report are related to the agriculture sector. In such a situation, doubling the real income of farmers is possible only after achieving 10.4 percent annual growth rate in the agriculture sector. For this, there is a need for ‘investment’ to improve things like irrigation, agricultural markets and roads, electricity and transport. According to Alok, both public and private sectors will have to invest capital rapidly.

infrastructure development needed

In an article published in The Hindu Business Line in May 2022, Radheshyam Jadhav tried to understand why the goal of doubling farmers’ income by 2022 is still a dream. He wrote, “Farmers say that government schemes will not help in doubling their income unless the government’s policies on agriculture are comprehensive. Technology and market freedom should be provided. More money needs to be invested in infrastructure development.

Government is making customers happy by ignoring farmers?

Top farmers’ organizations in Maharashtra, such as Shetkari Sangathan, say ad hoc policies and schemes will not help farmers unless the government stops efforts to keep consumers happy. Shetkari alleges that the government intervenes in the market to control the prices and makes the customers happy by ignoring the farmers.

Five measures are necessary to double the income of farmers

In an article published in The Times of India in June 2021, Ashish Kotadia suggested some measures and explained how India can achieve the goal of doubling farmers’ income by 2022. He wrote in the first of the five points, agricultural production has to be increased through improving the productivity per unit of land. Have a look at the other four points-

• Improvement in Total Factor Productivity (TFP) is an important source of production growth. This brings down the cost. Farmers save. With this the income also increases.
• There is a lot of scope for improving the income of farmers by switching to cultivation of high value crops (HVCs). The staple crops (cereals, pulses, oilseeds) are sown in 77 percent of the area, but account for only 41% of the total production. Interestingly, sowing of HVCs like fruits, vegetables, fiber, etc. on just 19 per cent of the land also yields about 41 per cent of the product. Therefore, crop bifurcation is of paramount importance to increase the income and productivity of the farmers.
• Increasing crop productivity is of paramount importance. There are two main cropping seasons in India- Kharif and Rabi. Two crops are cultivated per year on the same land. According to land use data, second crop is planted on 38.9% area only. This means that more than 60% of the agricultural land in the country does not have any agricultural work for almost half the time of production. In such a situation, increasing the crop intensity will benefit the farmers. Their income will also increase.
• Farmers should turn to non-farm activities or allied farming activities at the end of the farming season.

It is necessary to implement plans with better coordination

In a report by The Indian Express Online, Deloitte India (Agriculture) partner Arindam Guha said in June 2019 that value-added crops need to be focused on doubling farmers’ income. Horticulture has potential. Regarding increasing the MSP, he said that the MSP is at least 50 percent more than the cost of production, but there is a bumper production in India. In such a situation, it is very important to make a direct link between the farm to the market. The problems related to cold storage, farm access points and irrigation need to be implemented with better coordination. Only by doing this the income of the farmers will increase.

PM Modi’s vision on doubling farmers’ income

On the efforts of the Central Government towards doubling the income of farmers, PM Modi said on the occasion of releasing the 10th installment of the Prime Minister’s Kisan Samman Nidhi that the farmers of India have become a big support. Thousands of crores of rupees are transferred every year and through middlemen. With the help of Kisan Samman Nidhi, small farmers are buying good quality seeds and fertilizers.

Farmers’ income will increase from bio fuel

In a public meeting in Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh, PM Modi had said that for the first time after independence, a government has been formed to take decisions in the interest of small farmers. Counting the plans of his government, he said that India is making its own identity in the global market. In this meeting on December 11, 2021, PM Modi said that efforts are being made to increase the use of bio-fuel options to increase the income of farmers. He had said that many factories have been set up to make ‘bush ke oil’ i.e. bio fuel. According to PM Modi, fast work is being done on making ethanol from sugarcane. The economic condition of sugarcane farmers is improving.

Four point measures of PM Modi

In September 2018, PM Modi had a direct dialogue with the farmers. He had said that the government is moving ahead with the goal of doubling the income of farmers. Old policies and obstacles have to be removed. PM Modi said, when he talked about doubling the income, people made fun of him. Attempts were made to create an atmosphere of despair, but we have faith in our farmers. Farmers have proved their worth by hard work. According to PM Modi, to doubling the income of farmers, work has to be done on four points-

• How to minimize the cost of raw materials
• Farmers get fair price for their produce
• Stop wastage of farmers’ produce
• Alternative sources of income should be created after farming

PM Modi had said that important decisions have been taken in the budget to get fair price for the crops.

produce good quality products

In September 2016, at the celebration of CSIR’s Platinum Jubilee, PM Modi said that in 2022, 75 years of India’s independence are being completed. He had said that we are aiming to double the income of the farmers of the country. He called upon the scientists of CSIR to develop improved varieties of crops. PM Modi has made use of scientific methods and taking genetic science to the farmers. Farmers want to do something new. He had also called for developing varieties of vegetables. PM Modi said that during his visit to the Gulf countries, he realized that India also has the potential to increase production capacity and export in large quantities. So good quality products should be made. He said that there is immense potential for export of agricultural products from India to the Gulf countries.

Also read- Cabinet approval to increase MSP of Kharif crops