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Chautala's plea to Centre on paddy MSP

By Our Special Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, JUNE 9. The Haryana Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala, has urged the Union Government to fix the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of paddy at Rs.680 per quintal for common, Rs.700 per quintal for fine and Rs.730 per quintal for superfine varieties.

In a letter written to the Union Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar, he has also urged that cotton being an important commercial crop of the State grown over an area of six lakh hectares, its MSP should be fixed at Rs.2,650 per quintal and for bajra and maize, it should be Rs.625 per quintal.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices (CACP) on the price policy for kharif crops of 2004-05, he said that the MSP recommended for major kharif crops grown in Haryana was grossly inadequate because of the ever-increasing cost of cultivation. If the MSPs recommended by the CACP were finally fixed by the Government of India, farmers of the State would not only be at a great loss but would also feel discouraged and would find it very difficult to make investment in the production of subsequent rabi crops, he added.

Mr.Chautala said that the MSP recommended by the CACP in respect of paddy did not even cover the cost of cultivation. If agriculture had to undergo a change

from subsistence to viable commercialisation, the MSPs must be remunerative. He said that in the post-WTO regime, quality of agricultural commodities was talked everywhere but the MSP regime of paddy was discouraging the production of quality paddy. Haryana was known for production of superfine varieties of paddy with excellent quality. Earlier, the MSP of paddy was recommended separately for common, fine and superfine categories but after 1996-97, the fine and superfine categories had been merged and MSP was announced for Grade-A category, which was of great disadvantage to farmers.

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