In a bid to boost production of pulses and oilseeds and reduce the country’s dependence on imports, the Centre has hiked the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and announced an increase in bonus for these commodities grown in the kharif season.

The bonus on the three main varieties of pulses — tur, arhar and moong — has more than doubled, while the Centre has also announced an increase in the incentive for oilseeds production. Support prices for all other kharif crops, such as paddy, jowar, bajra and maize, have seen a modest increase. The revision will be effective from October 1.

“A bonus of ₹425 per quintal will be paid for dalhan (pulses), ₹100 for tilhan (oilseed) and ₹200 for til (sesamum),” Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh told reporters after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday.

“This is expected to give a strong price signal to farmers to bring more acreage under these crops,” he added.

However, farmers are not happy with the quantum of the increase in the procurement price and incentive considering the rise in cost of production.

Targeting lower imports The hike in bonus announced for pulses and oilseeds assumes significance as the country is highly import dependent for these commodities.

Edible oils, followed by pulses, are the top two agri-commodities imported by the country to meet the domestic consumption as local production has not kept pace with the rising demand.

Further, weak rainfall during the last two years has impacted production of pulses, resulting in a sharp increase in prices this year and triggering record imports of 5.79 million tonnes in 2015-16. Also, the sharp rally in prices has forced the Government to intervene and create a buffer stock of pulses.

The MSP for paddy was hiked by ₹60/quintal (4.3 per cent) to ₹1,470/quintal for the common variety and ₹1,510/quintal for the ‘Grade A’ variety. Jowar, bajra, maize and ragi, too, will get 3.5-4.5 per cent more.

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