Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday said that the government is considering a plan under which both Centre and States could share the logistics costs when farmers bring their produce and sell directly to consumers. He also said that the government is considering a plan to directly transfer the subsidy under mechanisation.
Addressing a group of farmers, who were invited on the occasion of Republic Day function, he said that he has been visiting States, interacting with farmers as it is key for policy making. “We have devised 10-point formula which includes improving production and reduction of input costs,” to address the current challenges.
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Other points under the formula also include right price for the produce. “No government was fixing MSP at 50 per cent over costs before Modi government decided to implement it in 2018,” Chouhan said. The Commission of Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) has been recommending MSP at minimum 150 per cent of the all India average costs of production (A2+Family Labour formula) since 2018, even as farmers are demanding it be fixed under C2 costs as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission.
Chouhan claimed that the government has been buying pulses at MSPs, and asked States to implement the Price Difference Payment Scheme for oilseeds by paying the difference amount to farmers if they receive lower than MSP. However, he acknowledged that the government has been receiving complaints of farmers’ produce not getting procured at MSPs. He informed that the government is seized of the matter and would ensure that produce are procured at MSPs.
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The minister also said that the government is working out a scheme in which the logistics expenses of farmers may be subsidised by Centre and States when horticulture produces are brought to towns for direct sales to consumers. He said that it is not acceptable when there is a wide gap exists between what farmers receive and what consumers pay. During the Rabi conference last year, the minister had promised to set up a committee on the same issue of wide gap in farm-gate and market rates of horticulture products, the fate of which is yet to be known.
The government is also considering a plan to directly transfer the subsidy under a mechanisation scheme, so that farmers are able to purchase equipment of their choice at the lowest rate from whosoever dealer they want, the minister indicated while acknowledging the hardships received by farmers in availing institutional credit.
