Noting that MSP for all crops has been raised significantly in past few years, President Droupadi Murmu on Friday asked the government to ensure that farmers get the right price for their produce. She also appealed for greater urgency to make sure farmers move “from a life of poverty to prosperity.”

Addressing the convocation of ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) at Pusa complex, Delhi, Murmu said farmers are not only “annadata” but also “jeevandata” who are contributing in making the country’s economy strong.

Need to work harder

“We are aware of problems faced by our farmers. Even today, many farmers are living in poverty. To ensure they get the right price (for their produce) and improve their livelihood, we need to work even harder in this direction,” Murmu said.

Since a large population in India earns livelihood from agriculture, that contributes significantly to the GDP, it is extremely important to ensure that this base of our economy grows as much as possible without any hindrance, she said.

Even as the government is working to increase the income of farmers, promote new agricultural methods and provide a smooth irrigation system to provide them income security, she said, many of them are still living in poverty. She expressed confidence that when India emerges as a developed nation by 2047, the Indian farmers will be the pioneers of this journey.

Swaminathan Commission report

The President’s remark on farmer income has come at a time when some farmer organisations, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, have announced their plan to march to Delhi on February 13. Major demands of the farmer outfits include legal guarantee of MSP, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report to fixing the MSP on the formula of 50 per cent profit over and above comprehensive (C2) cost of production, loan waiver of farmers and farm workers and justice for farmers dead at Lakhimpur Khiri in UP during 2021 farm protest.

Thousands of farmers from Uttar Pradesh, close to Delhi border, held a protest on February 8 completely blocking the roads during the entire day. They are seeking hiked compensation for lands acquired by the government.

Highlighting the contribution of IARI in the farm sector, the President said the institute has contributed for achieving the food security of the nation while appreciating its initiative Mera Gaon, Mera Gaurav (My Village, My Pride). It has developed more than 100 crop varieties and patented the same number between 2005 and 2020.

IARI’s mission

IARI’s Director and Vice Chancellor A K Singh said the journey of the institute began in 1905 from Pusa in Bihar. The institute’s mission is to provide leadership for science-led sustainable and globally competitive agriculture for food, nutrition and livelihood security. He hoped that 30 high yielding varieties of agri-horticultural crops, developed by IARI in 2023, would be big success in commercial cultivation.

He said IARI’s wheat varieties are currently cultivated in about 9 million hectares, contributing 30 million tonnes (mt) of wheat out of 110.55 mt produced in the entire country. Pusa Basmati rice varieties had contributed Rs 40,000 crore during 2023 as foreign exchange, he added.