Union Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring that farmers receive a fair price for their produce in every situation, and said no effort will be spared at any level to rescue the ‘annadatta’ (food providers) from crisis.
He said the NDA government has provided a strong security shield to farmers’ income through record purchases at Minimum Support Price (MSP), PM-AASHA, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, price difference payment, and Market Intervention Scheme, and farmers’ incomes have doubled.
While answering various questions raised by MPs in the Lok Sabha, Chouhan said that to increase farmers’ incomes and protect their interests, the central government has taken several historic steps in the past years.
He informed that agricultural production has increased by nearly 44 per cent, and a comprehensive campaign has been launched to simultaneously enhance farmers’ productivity and income.
Chouhan said that in the previous governments’ time, excuses were made in the name of implementing the Swaminathan Commission recommendations. In contrast, the NDA government decided to determine the Minimum Support Price by taking into account 50 per cent profit on production cost and continuously implemented it, enabling farmers to get better returns for their hard work.
He stated that merely announcing MSP is not enough; actually procuring at that price is more important, and in this direction, the government has provided direct benefits to farmers through record purchases at MSP not only for wheat, paddy, pulses, and oilseeds but also for various other crops.
He said this government has not remained limited to grains only but is also actively intervening for pulses, oilseeds, fruits, and vegetables so that farmers do not suffer losses if prices of any crop fall.
Chouhan informed that the Pradhan Mantri Annadatta Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan – PM-ASHA scheme, a significant initiative launched during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure, provides security to those crops whose prices often fall below MSP. He said that under PM-AASHA, three types of arrangements have been made – direct purchase of pulses and oilseeds through Price Support Scheme, bridging the gap between MSP and market price through price difference payment mechanism, and providing protection to farmers through other means, if needed.