The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food Processing has recommended the implementation of a legally binding minimum support price (MSP) in the country, a longstanding demand of farmer unions.
The Committee’s recommendations come at a time when farmer unions have been staging protests at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, demanding a law guaranteeing MSP.
Former Punjab Chief Minister and incumbent MP from Jalandhar, Charanjit Singh Channi, who is the chairperson of the Committee, presented the first report of the Eighteenth Lok Sabha on demands for grants (2024-25) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on Tuesday (December 17).
The recommendation for a legally binding MSP is also part of the report, said a press release from the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
“The Committee observed that implementation of MSP remains a focal point in the dialogue surrounding agricultural reform and farmers welfare in India. Since the Committee believe that implementing a robust and legally binding MSP in the country could play a crucial role in reducing farmer suicides in India by providing financial stability, protecting against market volatility & alleviating debt burdens, they recommended implementation of the same,” said the release.
In view of the rising farmers’ debt and suicides linked to farm distress, the Committee has also recommended the Centre to introduce a scheme to waive off debt of farmers and farm labourers.
Data provided by the committee also showed that even though the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare got higher allocations in absolute amount from 2021-22 to 2024-25, the percentage(%) share of the Department w.r.t the total Central plan outlay, witnessed decline from 3.53% in 2020-21 to 2.54% in 2024-25.
The Committee urged the Govt. to enhance allocation to agriculture especially to improve productivity. It also recommended that the support given under PM-KISAN scheme may be increased to Rs.12,000 per annum from Rs.6,000 at present.
The Committee also recommended that a National Commission for Minimum Living Wages for Farm Labourers may be established at the earliest to provide long due rights to farm
labourers.
Last week, farmers’ unions demanding a law for MSP had called off their march to Delhi after the Haryana police once again deployed water cannons and tear gas on agitating farmers from Punjab at the Shambhu border crossing into Haryana.
