A number of farmers’ groups from across the country have given a joint submission to the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) seeking a remunerative minimum support price for Kharif crops.
The farmers have demanded that CACP conduct a special study on how demonetisation has adversely impacted agriculture and recommend a special component in Kharif 2017-18 as compensation. A representative group led by Jai Kisan Andolan founder Yogendra Yadav submitted a memorandum and made a presentation to the CACP for formulation of the pricing policy, said an official release.
Other farmer organisations supporting the memorandum include the Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, Madhya Pradesh, and Rythu Swarajya Vedika, Telangana.
The CACP is mandated to recommend minimum support prices (MSPs) to incentivisecultivators to adopt modern technology, and raise productivity and overall grain production.
The team expressed concern about the slowing in the percentage rise of MSP during the tenure of the present NDA government. It added that the process of MSP should shift to Remunerative and Universal Price and Yield Assurance mechanism.
The CACP recommends MSPs of 23 commodities, which comprise seven cereals (paddy, wheat, maize, sorghum, pearl millet, barley and ragi), five pulses (gram, tur, moong, urad, lentil), seven oilseeds (groundnut, rapeseed-mustard, soyabean, seasmum, sunflower, safflower, nigerseed), and four commercial crops (copra, sugarcane, cotton and raw jute).