Lok Sabha Question No. 3151 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-08
Subject: Remunerative Price of Crops
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Sukhbir Singh Badal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE & FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE & FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3151

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 8 TH  AUGUST, 2023

## REMUNERATIVE PRICE OF CROPS

## 3151. SHRI SUKHBIR SINGH BADAL:

Will  the  Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण मंũी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the farmers in the country are not able to sell their crops and are not getting remunerative price which is 50% than the input costs and value of production as per the Swaminathan Report as promised by the Government;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  has  allayed  the  apprehensions  of  farmers  that  the Government's model mechanism of CACP is not faulty that calculates cost of inputs to determine the MSP;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  any  proposal  to  appoint  an  independent  monitoring agency in the matter which can audit the calculations and make a report thereon and if so, the steps taken by the Government in this regard; and
- (e) whether the Government is planning to give relief package to improve the condition of farmers in the country?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण मंũी ( SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

- (a)  to  (e):    The  Government  fixes  Minimum  Support  Price  (MSP)  of  22  mandated agricultural crops to ensure remunerative prices to the growers for their produce with a

view to encourage higher investment and production, on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), views of State Governments and Central Ministries/Departments concerned.

While  recommending  MSP,  CACP  considers  important  factors  like  overall demand-supply conditions, cost of production, domestic and international prices, intercrop price parity, terms of trade between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, the likely  effect  on  the  rest  of  the  economy,  besides  ensuring  rational  utilization  of  land, water and other production resources and a minimum of 50 percent as the margin over cost of production. The Cost of production is one of the important determinants of MSP and its estimation is based on the methodology recommended by Expert Committees from  time  to  time.  CACP  projects  cost  for  ensuing  marketing  season  on  the  basis  of actual  paid  out  costs  and  imputed  value  of  family  labour  and  Composite  Input  Price Index  (CIPI).The  CIPIs  are  based  on  latest  prices  of  major  inputs  like  human  labour, bullock labour, machine labour, fertilisers and manures, seeds, pesticides and irrigation.

National Commission on Farmers (NCF), constituted under the Chairmanship of Prof. M.S. Swaminathan in 2004, inter alia, recommended that, 'MSP should be at least 50 percent more than the weighted average cost of production'. To give effect to this recommendation,  Government,  in  its Union Budget  for  2018-19,  had  made  an announcement to keep MSP at a level of one and half times of the cost of production as a pre-determined principle. Accordingly, MSPs for all mandated Kharif, Rabi and other commercial crops have been fixed with a margin of at least 50 per cent over all India weighted average cost of production since the year 2018-19.

Government is committed to the welfare of farmers and has taken numerous measures to  support  agriculture  across  the  country.  A  comprehensive  range  of  schemes  and programmes  has  been  implemented  to  address  various  aspects  of  agriculture  and benefit farmers across agriculture and allied sectors. These inter alia, include:

- i. Supplementary income transfers under PM-KISAN of Rs. 6000/- per year in three equal instalments to eligible beneficiaries.
- ii. Increase in Minimum Support Price (MSPs) for all Kharif & Rabi crops ensuring a minimum of 50 percent of margin on the cost of production.
- iii. Crop insurance under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY).
- iv. Better  access  to  irrigation  under  Pradhan  Mantri  Krishi  Sinchayee  Yojana (PMKSY).
- v. Special  attention  for  creation  of  infrastructure  through  Agri  Infrastructure  Fund (AIF) with a size of Rs. 100,000 crores.
- vi. New procurement policy under PM-AASHA in addition to FCI operations.
- vii. Kisan  Credit  Cards  (KCC)  offering  production  loan  to  even  dairy  &  fishery farmers besides agricultural crops.
- viii. Formation and promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO).
- ix. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), which aims to evolve and implement  strategies  to  make  Indian  agriculture  more  resilient  to  the  changing climate.
- x. Adoption of drone technologies in agriculture which has potential to revolutionize the Indian agriculture.
- xi. Benefits accruing under Bee-Keeping, Rashtriya Gokul Mission, Blue Revolution, Interest Subvention Scheme,  Agro-forestry, Restructured  Bamboo  Mission, implementation of new generation watershed guidelines, etc.
- xii. Focus on application of digital technology at all stages of agricultural value chain.
- xiii. Supply of fertilizer to farmer at subsidized price so as to reduce input cost.

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