Lok Sabha Question No. 1353 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-30
Subject: Swaminathan Committee Report
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Shri Varun Chaudhry

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1353

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 30 th  July, 2024

## SWAMINATHAN COMMITTEE REPORT

1353.     SHRI VARUN CHAUDHRY:

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

- (a)  the  formula  adopted  for  calculating  Minimum  Support  Price  (MSP)  by  National Commission on Farmers chaired by Sh. M. S. Swaminathan and the formula adopted by the Department;
- (b)  whether  there  is  any  proposal  under  consideration  to  calculate  MSP  as  per Swaminathan  Committee  Report.  If  yes,  the  time  frame  by  which  it  is  proposed  to adopted and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (c)  whether  there  is  any  proposal  under  consideration  to  provide  legal  guarantee  on MSP to farmers, if so the time frame by which it is proposed to be adopted and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण राǛ मंũी  ( SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR)

(a):  and  (b):  Government  fixes  Minimum  Support  Prices  (MSPs)  for  22  mandated agricultural  crops  on  the  basis  of  the  recommendations  of  the  Commission  for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) and in consultation with State Governments and a stake holder Central Ministries / Departments. While recommending MSP, Commission for  Agricultural  Costs  and  Prices  (CACP)  considers  important  factors  like  cost  of production, overall demand-supply  conditions, domestic and international prices, intercrop price parity, terms of trade between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, 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.

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.

(c):  To make MSP more effective and transparent, a committee has been constituted on 12 th  July, 2022. The subject matter of the committee include three points, such as, (i) Suggestions to make available MSP to farmers of the country by making the system more effective and transparent, (ii) Suggestions on practicality to give more autonomy to Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and measures to make it more scientific, and (iii) To strengthen the Agricultural Marketing System as per the changing requirements of the country to ensure higher value to the farmers through remunerative prices of their produce by taking advantage of the domestic and export opportunities.

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