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Hooda Jr. seeks MSP regime revamp

Special Correspondent

Writes to Manmohan Singh; suggests that idea of dual MSP pricing be explored

CHANDIGARH: The Member of Parliament from Rohtak, Deepender Singh Hooda, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Friday and urged him to revamp the current minimum support price (MSP) regime, according to a release issued here.

Mr. Hooda pleaded that it had become imperative to usher in a second Green Revolution which should focus on the men and women feeding India. Mr. Hooda also handed over a letter to Dr. Manmohan Singh in which he reiterated the points he had raised in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. While emphasising the need for changing the MSP system, he suggested that the idea of dual MSP pricing be explored. "There should be a variable MSP covering cost of cultivation, varying by the State as per the recommendations of the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and by the State Governments," he suggested. "Also, there should be variable procurement prices, at the discretion of the Department of Food, depending on market conditions in different seasons and regions of the country."

He further suggested that there should be zonal or State-specific MSPs instead of an all-India MSP. The calculation of MSP is generally based on the average all-India cost of cultivation and the fact that the cost of cultivation varied across the State is not taken into account. Therefore, this results in "anomalous situations" where the MSP turns out to be less than the cost of cultivation in some States.

Mr. Hooda pleaded that the MSP be used as an instrument to transmit price signals to encourage diversification of crops. He appreciated that over the last few years, right signals in the MSP regime had been given in case of oil seeds and the same was required for gram and barley, which were usually grown in poorly rain-fed areas.

The first-time MP said that while grains were rotting in FCI warehouses, the Government's price and procurement policy ensured regional concentration of foodgrain outputs, with a few States like Haryana and Punjab alone accounting for the bulk of the surpluses procured. This "output concentration" situation had tipped out farmers into a wheat-paddy cycle which has led to deterioration of soil health and depletion of ground water to unsustainably low levels, he told Dr. Singh.

MSP inadequate

Arguing that the hike in the MSP for Kharif did not even coverthe inflation rate and "was actually 50 times less than the annual inflation rate", he urged Dr. Manmohan Singh to de-club fine and superfine varieties of paddy while announcing the MSP and to declare a separate MSP for the basmati variety.

Meanwhile, State Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan has thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar for raising the MSP of paddy by Rs. 40 a quintal to Rs. 650 per quintal.

Mr. Chander Mohan, who also holds the Food and Supplies portfolio, said that with the increase in the MSP, farmers would get much relief. He expressed hope that the target of paddy procurement would be achieved by the State Government as the hike in the MSP had been made well in time. He also lauded the efforts of Congress president Sonia Gandhi in getting the MSP raised.

Asserting that the Centre had given several concessions to farmers, he said the rate of interest on crop loans had been reduced and the MSP for all types of food grains and oil seeds had been increased substantially. "During the National Democratic Alliance regime only a meagre increase in the MSP of food grains was made and the farmers had to bear huge losses."

The Haryana Government also had given many concessions to the farmers, he added.

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