Punjab farmer unions term Centre’s wheat MSP hike as peanuts

According to leaders of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) and BKU (Dakaunda), the actual cost of production is much higher than what the Central committee has mentioned.

A day after the Centre hiked the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat crop by ₹150, farmers unions in Punjab on Thursday termed it peanuts, claiming it does not account for the actual cost of production.

The cabinet committee on economic affairs has increased the wheat MSP by ₹150 (7%), revising it from ₹2,275 to ₹2,425.

The cabinet committee on economic affairs has increased the wheat MSP by ₹150 (7%), revising it from ₹2,275 to ₹2,425. The committee also mentioned ₹1,182 as expected cost of wheat production per quintal than last year’s ₹1,128. Effecting an increase of ₹300, the MSP for mustard has also been hiked from ₹5,650 to ₹5,950 with ₹3,011 as the expected cost of production.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) (Ugrahan) state general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri said the Central government plays a joke with farmers every year by meagerly increasing the MSP of rabi crops, especially of wheat, as the central committee fails to take note of inflation. The actual cost of production is much higher than the expected cost mentioned by the committee, he said.

Jagmohan Singh, state general secretary of the BKU (Dakaunda), said farmers have been asking the Centre to adopt a formula recommended by noted agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan. “The government is not offering MSP on the C2 (comprehensive cost) and 50% profit,” he said, adding that the prices of labour, diesel, pesticides, etc have gone up.