Farmers grapple with rising costs, falling incomes
6 years, 5 months ago

Farmers grapple with rising costs, falling incomes

Live Mint  

Falling farm incomes in rural Maharashtra might be an important factor fuelling the current spate of protests by the Marathas, who are demanding reservation in educational institutions and government jobs. The net returns from farming, or wholesale prices minus costs of production, declined for most of the major crops in the state between 2006-07 and 2014-15, reveals analysis of data available from official sources. Returns from the state’s six leading crops by area sown, including cotton, gram, jowar, paddy, soybean and wheat, were either falling or very volatile during the period. Extending the analysis to nine crops across various states, covering four broad categories—foodgrain, pulses, oilseeds and other cash crops—reveals a similar pattern of declining and/or volatile returns. On the other hand, returns have been relatively higher and stable for paddy and wheat, the two crops, which enjoy substantial procurement by the government, often exceeding 30% of the annual production, in recent years.

India Farmers Wheat Paddy Crops Msp Marathas Returns Wholesale Prices Falling Incomes  falling  incomes  returns  production  prices  wheat  soybean  rising  small  paddy  grapple  support  costs  crops  farmers

History of this topic

Agri ministry plans to launch price compensation scheme for all crops, including vegetables; states to take final call
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Agri ministry plans to launch price compensation scheme for all crops, including vegetables; states to take final call

Live Mint  

New Delhi: The government is planning to compensate farmers for the losses they suffer when the prices of produce fall substantially below the minimum support price, or MSP. According to the scheme, when the market price of a farm produce—whether grains, pulses or vegetables—falls below the MSP, the Union government will cover up to 15% of the price difference. States …

Skewed subsidies make paddy most profitable
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Skewed subsidies make paddy most profitable

Hindustan Times  

Massive subsidies for growers of paddy, a water-guzzling cereal that has ecologically ruined Punjab and Haryana, along with state-guaranteed purchases,have made it the most profitable crop in the country, the reason why farmers don’t want to shift to scarce items such as pulses, a new study has said. However, given that subsidies are heavily skewed towards rice, it will be …

Fresh push for law to guarantee crop support prices
6 months ago

Fresh push for law to guarantee crop support prices

New Indian Express  

Farmers’ organisations have been lobbying to bring in guaranteed minimum support prices through private member bills. The ‘non-political’ breakaway of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha and the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Morcha, who have substantial support in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, have parleyed with several non-NDA MPs to move the needle during the upcoming budget session of parliament. A legislative …

Farmers around the world to grow fewer grain crops as increased production costs narrow profit margins
8 months, 4 weeks ago

Farmers around the world to grow fewer grain crops as increased production costs narrow profit margins

ABC  

In short: Farmers around the world say profit margins are being squeezed to the point where some food is unviable to grow. Global wheat and corn prices have halved since record peaks in 2022, but the cost of essential inputs such as fertiliser remain historically high, creating a squeeze on farm profit margins and making some crops unviable to grow. …

Explained: Five unfounded objections against minimum support price
10 months, 1 week ago

Explained: Five unfounded objections against minimum support price

The Hindu  

Published : Mar 08, 2024 16:21 IST - 5 MINS READ A series of objections are frequently raised against the farmers’ demand for an MSP. The dumping of such produce in Indian markets and the Indian government’s own actions such as export bans and import policies distort the market against the interests of the farmers. ‘Food will become unaffordable if …

Reimagine MSP regime to secure farm future
10 months, 1 week ago

Reimagine MSP regime to secure farm future

Hindustan Times  

Early in my career, a Punjab farmer, upon my asking why he sowed paddy despite having to search deeper every year for water, said, “I will sow what you want, you just assure me a reasonable return.” That year, on a trip to Haryana, I asked a poultry farmer and an aggregator who procured from him how government policies facilitated …

Guarantee procurement, not just minimum prices
10 months, 1 week ago

Guarantee procurement, not just minimum prices

Hindustan Times  

In November 2022, a year-long farmer protest movement forced the Union government to repeal the 2021 farm laws which de-regulated agricultural markets in India. On the other hand, farmers insist that the MSP, when coupled with actual procurement, provides them with a price floor that enables them to negotiate better prices with private traders and large corporations and thereby earn …

We must not let Indian agriculture turn into an unending tragi-comedy
10 months, 1 week ago

We must not let Indian agriculture turn into an unending tragi-comedy

Live Mint  

Third, agricultural spends have a targeting problem. Professor Ashok Gulati estimates that the MSP system’s total coverage is limited to only 5.6% of Indian farmers and just 2.2% of our agricultural produce by value. Juxtapose this with the fact that agriculture today accounts for a much lower portion of rural household incomes than is usually imagined. As per the National …

Thousands of Indian farmers are marching to New Delhi to renew their demands over crop prices
11 months ago

Thousands of Indian farmers are marching to New Delhi to renew their demands over crop prices

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Indian authorities Tuesday deployed heavy …

Ignoring an agricultural sector in distress
11 months, 1 week ago

Ignoring an agricultural sector in distress

The Hindu  

February 02, 2024 12:44 am | Updated 07:51 am IST The report released by the Finance Ministry and the vote-on-account presented by the Finance Minister are concerned more about portraying a glowing image of the government than about the financing plans for 2024-25. The fall of incomes from cultivation was not only owing to the stagnation or fall of agricultural …

Explained | Will a hike in MSP help farmers?
1 year, 7 months ago

Explained | Will a hike in MSP help farmers?

The Hindu  

June 12, 2023 10:47 pm | Updated 10:48 pm IST The story so far: Last week, the Centre announced the Minimum Support Price for this year’s summer season crops, hiking prices between 5-10% from last season, “to ensure remunerative prices to growers for their produce and to encourage crop diversification.” A section of farmer representatives have expressed unhappiness over what …

How falling farm incomes impact India’s economy
1 year, 9 months ago

How falling farm incomes impact India’s economy

Live Mint  

After a period of robust crop prices, farm incomes are likely to take a hit in 2023 following a glut in perishable prices and damage wreaked by unseasonal rains. In March, ready-to-harvest winter crops like wheat, chick peas and mustard were damaged by hailstorms and unseasonal rains in several states. But higher prices for rice and wheat are a result …

Economic Survey 2023: Centre's MSP Boost For Crops Powered Agriculture Sector To Robust Growth
1 year, 11 months ago

Economic Survey 2023: Centre's MSP Boost For Crops Powered Agriculture Sector To Robust Growth

ABP News  

The Economic Survey 2022-23 was tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday in the parliament. As all eyes are on the Budget 2023, where the expectations for the agriculture sector remain upbeat, the Eco Survey 2022-23 showed that the performance of the agriculture and allied sector has been buoyant. As per the Eco Survey tabled in the Parliament, the …

An MSP scheme to transform Indian agriculture
2 years, 11 months ago

An MSP scheme to transform Indian agriculture

The Hindu  

The ongoing struggle of farmers is not for political power. MSP could serve, in principle, three purposes — price stabilisation in the food grains market, income support to farmers, and also as a mechanism for coping with the indebtedness of farmers. The price stabilisation policy for food grains in India evolved over time, first with the Essential Commodities Act in …

MSP as Legal Guarantee is a Made-for-disaster Proposal, Will Lead to Market Collapse
3 years ago

MSP as Legal Guarantee is a Made-for-disaster Proposal, Will Lead to Market Collapse

News 18  

The farmer groups are all set to converge to decide how to take forward their demand for MSP as a legal guarantee. They do not want the government to procure all the crops but just pay the differential between market price and MSP to farmers. The farmer groups are not saying that they want the government to procure at MSP, …

KCR writes to Modi, asks to rein in fertiliser prices
3 years ago

KCR writes to Modi, asks to rein in fertiliser prices

Deccan Chronicle  

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Wednesday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on behalf of crores of farmers in the country to ensure that the cost of fertilisers were maintained at the present level and additional cost, if any, should be absorbed by the Centre so that farmers were not burdened. In a letter addressed to the Prime …

What is Minimum Support Price, or MSP?
3 years ago

What is Minimum Support Price, or MSP?

Business Standard  

MSPs are the prices at which the government procures certain crops from farmers to insure them against any sharp fall in prices. Based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, the government declares MSP after considering the views of state governments and Central Ministries/Departments concerned for agricultural crops such as cereal, pulses, oilseeds and commercial crops …

Explained | What will a legal guarantee of MSP involve?
3 years, 1 month ago

Explained | What will a legal guarantee of MSP involve?

The Hindu  

The story so far: After a year-long agitation on the borders of Delhi, protesting farm unions under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha have achieved their headline demand, namely the repeal of three contentious laws seeking to reform the storage and marketing of agricultural produce. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the SKM said MSP based on …

India’s farm sector to sustain momentum, but that’s not enough
3 years, 8 months ago

India’s farm sector to sustain momentum, but that’s not enough

Hindustan Times  

India’s farm sector is forecast to maintain its remarkable expansion in 2021-22 on the back of robust output and prices despite the coronavirus pandemic. A normal monsoon will continue to see an expansion of the agriculture sector, aside from good encouraging prices and acreage trends,” said Abhishek Agrawal of Comtrade, an agricultural trading firm. Better performance of the agriculture sector …

‘Negative support’ to Indian farmers: myth or reality?
3 years, 9 months ago

‘Negative support’ to Indian farmers: myth or reality?

The Hindu  

In the heat of the ongoing protests against the new farm laws, some views have emerged that the state has saddled the Indian farmer with excessive taxes. On the other hand, for products such as bovine meat, rice and milk, the market price support was negative because domestic prices were lower than the international prices for the respective agricultural product. …

Govt Ushered Historic Increase in MSP, Doing Everything Possible to Double Farmers' Income: PM Modi
3 years, 10 months ago

Govt Ushered Historic Increase in MSP, Doing Everything Possible to Double Farmers' Income: PM Modi

News 18  

On the completion of two years of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said his government ushered a historic increase in the Minimum Support Price for crops and was doing everything possible to double the income of farmers. We are doing everything possible to double the income of farmers,” he said in a series …

In agri-reforms, go back to the drawing board
4 years ago

In agri-reforms, go back to the drawing board

The Hindu  

The purpose of agriculture reforms is to increase farmers’ incomes. The problem of low incomes in India’s agriculture sector is a complex systems problem which cannot be solved by agriculture experts alone. Economists point, wistfully, to the firmness with which bold reforms were brought about in 1991, and how the government stood up to the ‘Bombay Club’ of industrialists who …

Poor Farmers, Small Landholdings & Low Crop Yield Crisis: Why India Desperately Needs Farm Reforms
4 years, 1 month ago

Poor Farmers, Small Landholdings & Low Crop Yield Crisis: Why India Desperately Needs Farm Reforms

News 18  

When it comes to agriculture, India is a land of contradictions. India is one of the top producers of several crops in the world but when it comes to productivity parameters, i.e., crop produced per unit of land, we are yet laggards. However, when it comes to the agricultural yield, or amount of crop produced per unit of land, we …

MSP model's utility is long gone; new farm laws will give farmers more market access, promote agri exports
4 years, 1 month ago

MSP model's utility is long gone; new farm laws will give farmers more market access, promote agri exports

Firstpost  

If administered prices have been seen to be ineffective in so many areas of economic activity, why should Indian agriculture be any different? In Piparia, near Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh, a small farmer acted successfully against a large private firm to get contracted price for his paddy using new farm laws. The Federation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Farmers for Market …

Data | In 68% sale instances, crops sold below MSP in mandis
4 years, 2 months ago

Data | In 68% sale instances, crops sold below MSP in mandis

The Hindu  

Amid protests against the three farm laws, the government began procurement of Kharif crops at the Minimum Support Price. An analysis of 10 crops sold in the last one month in the mandis shows that in 68% of instances, crops were sold below the MSP. Even in the case of paddy, which is procured in significant quantity, the selling price …

Data | Even in States with limited procurement, farmers wanted MSP programme to continue
4 years, 3 months ago

Data | Even in States with limited procurement, farmers wanted MSP programme to continue

The Hindu  

Only 6% of agricultural households in India sell* their produce at the Minimum Support Price, latest available data show. Two surveys show that even in States where there was limited procurement, farmers wanted the MSP programme to continue. Click to remove AMP mode Measures that may help in right cropping decision/better price realisation image/svg+xml Uses of MSP In a Niti …

BJP’s one market for farmers is a myth | Opinion
4 years, 3 months ago

BJP’s one market for farmers is a myth | Opinion

Hindustan Times  

Should India’s farmers have the economic freedom to market their produce to whoever and wherever they want at an agreed price? The nearest Agriculture Produce Market Committee market yard for Gawande is 25 km away where licenced traders will bid for his produce, starting with the Minimum Support Price declared by the government. The Bharatiya Janata Party government has passed …

Agri-reforms will empower farmers. The Opposition is wrong | Opinion
4 years, 3 months ago

Agri-reforms will empower farmers. The Opposition is wrong | Opinion

Hindustan Times  

The unprecedented 23.9% decline in the gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2020-21 is serious. These reforms were similar to the 1991 moment for the wider economy and were hailed as such by leading experts The Centre promulgated three agriculture-related ordinances in June, which were a break from the past when pernicious interventions by governments were justified in …

Everybody loves a farmer
5 years, 9 months ago

Everybody loves a farmer

The Hindu  

In a sudden flurry of new-foundconcern for the long-suffering Indian peasant, parties across the political spectrum are desperately trying to woo this section of society. After consistently refusing to fix the minimum support price for farm produce at C2+50 per cent level as recommended by the National Commission of Farmers headed by the agricultural scientist M.S. Within a week, the …

Straggling rabi crop cultivation underlines flaws in India agri policy
5 years, 10 months ago

Straggling rabi crop cultivation underlines flaws in India agri policy

Live Mint  

Despite the government’s support mechanisms, agriculture activity continues to be influenced by weather conditions and farm produce realizations. Low paddy sowing is weighing on sales of agricultural inputs, points out Edelweiss Securities Ltd. “Our channel checks indicate that consumption has been under pressure due to lower paddy sowing, erratic & untimely monsoon and weak fruit & vegetable prices,” analysts at …

The reasons why irate farmers are taking out rallies
6 years, 1 month ago

The reasons why irate farmers are taking out rallies

Live Mint  

Last week, thousands of farmers turned up to protest on the streets of Delhi and Kolkata. The average size of the plot on which farming is carried out has shrunk over the decades, as it has been divided across generations. Of this, around 99.9 million farms, or 68.5%, are marginal or less than one hectare in size. What has also …

MSP sustains the illusion that farmers rule in this country
6 years, 2 months ago

MSP sustains the illusion that farmers rule in this country

Live Mint  

Minimum support price is a fiction. MSP is a sovereign guarantee that the state shall step in as a buyer of the last resort so that farmers get fair returns for their hard work. Parliament’s standing committee on agriculture routinely acknowledges and ritually regrets the inability of the vast majority of farmers to realize MSP equivalent prices. Just go to …

Doubling farm incomes: Why change is still slow
6 years, 2 months ago

Doubling farm incomes: Why change is still slow

Deccan Chronicle  

Agriculture’s contribution to economic value addition is shrinking worldwide. But that is cold comfort for the families of 118 million small and marginal farmers in India, comprising 85 per cent of the 139 million land holdings. These subsidies — purchase above market rates; fertilisers supplied at below market rates; electricity supplied at below cost; canal water supplied at below cost, …

Farmers hit as prices of kharif crops plunge below MSPs
6 years, 3 months ago

Farmers hit as prices of kharif crops plunge below MSPs

Live Mint  

Wholesale prices of just-harvested kharif crops are trading at lower than minimum support prices, despite the government’s promise to ensure better prices for farmers. The latest farm gate price of moong is not only less than this year’s MSP but also less than the MSP of last year and production costs estimated at ₹ 4,650 per quintal. In Madhya Pradesh’s …

Farmers on the war path: Solution lies not in MSP, but in giving farmers a share in the revenue
6 years, 3 months ago

Farmers on the war path: Solution lies not in MSP, but in giving farmers a share in the revenue

Firstpost  

There is a sadder side to the farmer agitation. States where farmers get even lower incomes than the national average include Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh – all of them in North India which is India’s most populous region. The solution lies is moving away from the MS Swaminathan formula of giving farmers 50 percent more than …

Government raises MSP for winter crops as farmers keep up pressure
6 years, 3 months ago

Government raises MSP for winter crops as farmers keep up pressure

Live Mint  

New Delhi: A day after farmer protests for better crop prices rocked the national capital, the Centre on Wednesday raised minimum support prices for winter crops to ensure farmers get 50% more than what they spend on cultivation. While MSP for wheat, the main winter crop, was raised to ₹ 1,840 per quintal, a 6% increase over last year, the …

Kisan Kranti Yatra: Low income major cause of agrarian distress, but is higher MSP solution to farmers' woes?
6 years, 3 months ago

Kisan Kranti Yatra: Low income major cause of agrarian distress, but is higher MSP solution to farmers' woes?

Firstpost  

The current farmers’ agitation demanding a higher minimum support price, among others, is puzzling for many since it had been raised by 15 percent for 13 kharif crops, on an average, in July this year – the highest since 2013. Ironical as it may seem, a 2017 Niti Aayog report says that farmers’ income has not kept pace with the …

Reduction in number of farmers will help raise farm incomes: Ramesh Chand
6 years, 3 months ago

Reduction in number of farmers will help raise farm incomes: Ramesh Chand

Live Mint  

New Delhi: Growth in farm incomes will be aided by a reduction in the number of farmers and value addition of produce, apart from rising growth in agriculture gross domestic product, according to farm sector expert and NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand. Edited excerpts from an interview: India’s agriculture GDP growth rate has averaged 2.5% in the past four years. …

Govt panel recommends radical overhaul of farming ecosystem
6 years, 3 months ago

Govt panel recommends radical overhaul of farming ecosystem

Live Mint  

New Delhi: The government should undertake a radical overhaul of the agriculture ecosystem by moving from a supply-push production system to a demand-led one, according to a committee set up by the centre to recommend strategies to double farmer incomes by 2022. The agriculture ministry should also set up an “empowered committee” to operationalize and monitor progress of doubling of …

For NDA's move to raise MSPs of monsoon crops to matter, agriculture needs structural changes, says economic analyst
6 years, 3 months ago

For NDA's move to raise MSPs of monsoon crops to matter, agriculture needs structural changes, says economic analyst

Firstpost  

By Shreehari Paliath Mumbai: Under pressure from farmers’ groups across the country due to falling prices and a glut of produce, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government announced a hike in the minimum support prices of kharif season crops in July 2018. pic.twitter.com/7HayzD6ccD — BJP July 4, 2018 However, the new MSPs do not meet the recommendations made …

Centre announces new price support scheme for farmers
6 years, 4 months ago

Centre announces new price support scheme for farmers

Live Mint  

New Delhi: The government launched the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan on Wednesday to ensure that poor farmers growing pulses and oilseeds benefit from higher minimum support prices announced by the government. Wholesale prices of these crops fell sharply over the past two years, driven by higher production, forcing farmers to sell at a loss. Over the past two …

Minimum support price: Unkept promises on cost mitigation, bad formula to determine MSP compound farm woes
6 years, 4 months ago

Minimum support price: Unkept promises on cost mitigation, bad formula to determine MSP compound farm woes

Firstpost  

The cost of purchasing inputs like seeds, pesticides, fertilisers and machinery among others falls under the ‘A2’ cost category, while the cost of family labour is reflected in the ‘FL’ component. In a press release, the government announced that the MSP would be set at 50 percent over the cost of production and vowed to double farmers’ incomes by 2022. …

Reform agriculture marketing systems to address farm distress
6 years, 5 months ago

Reform agriculture marketing systems to address farm distress

Live Mint  

The recent increase in the minimum support prices for major kharif crops has reignited the debate about food price policy. The present food policy regime—consisting of the Food Corporation of India, which procures rice and wheat, along with some state agencies, the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices, which recommends procurement prices, and the public distribution system, which distributes foodgrains …

Will the MSP increase for kharif crops reduce India’s agrarian distress?
6 years, 5 months ago

Will the MSP increase for kharif crops reduce India’s agrarian distress?

Live Mint  

The much-awaited announcement on minimum support prices for kharif crops has increased the MSP for paddy by ₹ 200 from ₹ 1,550 to ₹ 1,750, a 13% increase. The decision to hike the MSP for kharif crops is welcome relief for the farming community reeling under severe distress due to the collapse of agricultural commodity prices and a general collapse …

An alternative agenda for farm support
6 years, 6 months ago

An alternative agenda for farm support

Live Mint  

In the last four years, Indian agriculture has clocked an average annual growth rate of a mere 2.5% against the economy’s growth rate of 7.2%. Countering low farm-gate prices through hefty MSP increases has failed time and again due to the limited reach of the government’s procurement mechanism and the lack of adequate and timely budget support. The Telangana government’s …

MSP hike, farm loan waivers to bolster rural economy but it’s not enough
6 years, 6 months ago

MSP hike, farm loan waivers to bolster rural economy but it’s not enough

Live Mint  

Mumbai: Substantial increases in minimum support prices on kharif crops and farm loan waiver in Karnataka are expected to reverse the fortunes of the farm sector and bolster continuing rural upliftment focus of the government ahead of the upcoming general elections in 2019. According to their estimates, higher MSPs will raise autumn kharif harvest farm income by 10% in contrast …

Massive hike in MSP by Modi govt: 150% MSP of Kharif crops among others, farmers ensured 50% profit margin
6 years, 6 months ago

Massive hike in MSP by Modi govt: 150% MSP of Kharif crops among others, farmers ensured 50% profit margin

Op India  

The Union cabinet has approved the proposal of increasing the Minimum Support Price for Kharif crops by 1.5 times the cost. Breaking News: Govt Approves Hike In Minimum Support Prices For Kharif Crops *Paddy MSP Hiked By Rs 250/Quintal@szarabi @MuralidharSwami pic.twitter.com/pxibi64YyL — BTVI Live July 4, 2018 Prime Minister Modi had announced recently that the government is soon going to …

Eye on elections, govt OKs steep hike in MSP
6 years, 6 months ago

Eye on elections, govt OKs steep hike in MSP

Live Mint  

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government on Wednesday raised the minimum support prices of kharif crops by the most in six years in a bid to address rural distress. For the 2018-19 crop season, MSP for paddy—the main crop planted by farmers in the rain-fed kharif season—was increased to ₹ 1,750 per quintal, an increase of ₹ 200 per quintal, …

India needs both price and income support for farmers
6 years, 6 months ago

India needs both price and income support for farmers

Live Mint  

Since the Union Budget 2018-19, there has been a great deal of discussion in the public domain regarding the health of the rural sector. The first is to provide better price for all rabi and kharif crops by fixing the minimum support price at 1.5 times the cost of production. Our estimate suggests that this increment in MSP by 1.5 …

Discover Related