The Union government did not give any assurance to protesting farmers on bringing a law to guarantee minimum support prices, agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in Parliament in a written reply on Tuesday.
Thousands of farmers, under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) staged massive protests last year against a set of agricultural laws, which were called off after the government agreed to rescind the legislation and assured them in writing that it would look into the issue of how to ensure MSPs for a variety of farm produce by constituting a committee .
An MSP is a federally determined floor price for farm produce set at 50% over cost of cultivation.
In his reply, the farm minister stated: “No Sir. The government had assured the formation of a committee to make MSP more effective and transparent, to promote natural farming and to change crop patterns keeping in mind the changing needs of the country.”
“Accordingly a committee has been constituted consisting of representatives of farmers, central government, state governments, agricultural economists and scientists etc.”
{{/usCountry}}“Accordingly a committee has been constituted consisting of representatives of farmers, central government, state governments, agricultural economists and scientists etc.”
{{/usCountry}}The government on Monday notified a committee to give suggestions on ways to “make MSPs more effective and transparent”, besides deliberating on crop diversification, organic farming promotion and marketing reforms.
In December last year, the government wrote to the protesting SKM, announcing a committee on main issues raised by farmers during their widespread protests. One of the points in a letter signed by former agriculture secretary, Sanjay Agarwal, dealt with the issue of MSP. The agitating farmers demanded a law guaranteeing floor prices for all major farm produce.
The December 2021 letter said: “On MSP, the Prime Minister and the agriculture minister had announced the formation of a committee. In this committee, the central government, state governments and farmers’ representatives and agricultural scientists will be nominated.”
“One of the mandates of the committee will be to ascertain how farmers of the country can get MSP. The government during talks had given an assurance procurement at MSP rates would continue.”
The SKM has rejected the Centre’s invitation to join the panel on MSP. It held a meeting on Tuesday and said in a statement that the committee is being “headed by a former agriculture secretary who had drafted the anti-farmers laws and had backed them till the end”. The government has “filled the committee with loyalists and also has a representative of the Rashtriya Swamyamsevak Sangh and left space for just three nominees from the SKM”, added Darshan Pal, a leader of the farmers’ platform.