Motu was absorbed in the newspaper when Chotu walked into the room.

Kya Motabhai, breakfast over? How many pooris down?

Hi Chotu, not yet yaar . I’m struggling to decipher this MSP stuff....

Oh yeah, haven’t they increased the MSP yesterday?

Haan , MSP means Masala vada-Sada dosa-Pongal no? I love the MSP at Saravana Bhavan...topped by a glass of lassi...

Motu, tu kabhi sudhrega nahin ! Can’t you think beyond khana ?

But this MSP also seems to be about khana only....they’re talking about paddy, pulses, jowar and bajra.

Arrey buddhu , this is about protecting our farmers and their incomes...Minimum Support Price

Achcha , got it, Modiji is putting money into the bank accounts of farmers as per his promise, haina ? Kya baat hai!

Oh, stop that nonsense Motu and listen to me carefully. MSP is the price that the government assures farmers for their produce. It will procure their crop at the MSP after harvest. Got it?

Oh I see, so farmers will benefit from this?

Yes and no. Yes, if the government procures their output. But the problem is that it often does not. It just procures a small part of their output making no difference to farmer incomes.

Accha , then why all this song and dance by our mantrijis?

Now you’re talking business. The mantrijis want to show our farmers that they’re concerned about their welfare...

Don’t we all know that the mantrijis are concerned about their own welfare?

Motu, I think you need to eat your MSP now.... I meant that the mantrijis want to show they’re concerned about the welfare of the farmers , samjha ?

Haan , I’m hungry alright. But tell me, why’re experts saying that increasing MSP is not a good idea?

Simple, Motu. First, as I said earlier, the government procures only a small part of the output from farmers. Second, increasing MSP year after year has caused mayhem in the market as farmers produce more to benefit from the higher MSP and market prices fall. Often, market prices are lower than MSP.

Achcha...

Third, governments over the years have focussed more on increasing MSP for paddy and wheat which means that farmers grow only these cereals irrespective of the supply-demand scene. Paddy is a water-intensive crop and it’s not a bright idea to grow it irrespective of water availability.

Is that right?

Yes, and finally, increasing MSP has an impact on food inflation as prices rise.

So, isn’t there a better option to help farmers without affecting the economy, Chotu?

There is, but it requires a strong will and tremendous effort from the government to implement.

And that is?

Direct transfer of subsidy to the bank accounts of farmers. The difference between the market price and the cost of production can be transferred to farmers’ bank accounts.

Brilliant...

Yes, but for this the government needs to have precise information on farm costs and selling prices both of which vary across regions.

We also need a system to generate reliable information on the output of every farmer which is not easy. But it’s doable.

Baap re , my head is spinning...

I think it’s time for your quota of MSP.... Better head to Saravana Bhavan now, Motabhai.

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