NEW DELHI: The govt on Wednesday approved new minimum support price (MSP) for 14 kharif crops in 2024-25 marketing season, recommending the highest absolute increase over the previous year for oilseeds and pulses in a signal to farmers to opt for growing these crops with an eye on trimming the country’s import bill.
Accordingly, MSP of (oilseed) niger was hiked by Rs 983 per quintal followed by another oilseed sesamum (Rs 632 per quintal) and pulses, tur/arhar (Rs 550 per quintal). The MSP of the most popular kharif crop, paddy, was, however, increased by merely Rs 117 per quintal -- from Rs 2,183 per quintal in 2023-24 to Rs 2,300 per quintal in 2024-25 (rise of 5.3%).
In 2023-24, the hike in MSP for paddy over the previous year was Rs 143 per quintal (7% increase over 2022-23). Relatively less hike this year in MSP of water-guzzling paddy can be attributed to the govt’s focus on other crops - oilseeds, pulses and coarse grains - so that farmers can gradually switch over to less water consuming and sustainable crops for better returns over their cost of production.
Since the govt has been promoting cultivation of nutri-cereals (coarse grains), the MSP of Ragi has been increased by Rs 444 per quintal - a hike of 11.5% over 2023-24.
“This (MSP hike) is the first Cabinet decision taken in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term in office,” said information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw while sharing details of the Cabinet decision.
The expected margin to farmers over their cost of production are estimated to be highest in case of bajra (77%) followed by tur/arhar (59%), maize (54%) and urad (52%). For the rest of the crops, margin to farmers over their cost of production is estimated to be at 50%. "The hike is in line with the Union Budget 2018-19 announcement of fixing the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times of the all-India weighted average cost of production," said Vaishnaw.
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