Andhra Pradesh   

Chances of MSP hike for paddy remote, Centre hints

HYDERABAD: The Centre has given strong indications to the Andhra Pradesh government that it may not be in a position to concede the demand for increasing the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy to Rs. 1,000 a quintal on a par with wheat as it would entail a huge financial burden.

It has pointed out that it would be apt to compare rice but not paddy with wheat. One quintal of paddy after de-husking yields about 65 kg of rice, including brokens, whereas there was virtually no wastage in wheat when ground into flour. Considering the present MSP of Rs. 695 a quintal of paddy (common variety), the price of rice worked out to Rs. 1,050 a quintal as against the MSP of Rs. 1,000 a quintal for wheat, officials of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture are said to have argued.

Moreover, in the light of Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar’s reported views against hike in the MSP for paddy, the State Government is reworking its strategy to impress upon Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mr. Pawar the need to increase the price in the interests of farmers. As the issue has taken a political turn with Opposition parties taking to the streets, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy informed a meeting of the Cabinet that he would visit New Delhi on November 2 to mount pressure on the Centre.

Sources in the Chief Minister’s office said Dr. Reddy had contacted his counterparts in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and other paddy-growing States to lobby with the Centre for enhancing the MSP of paddy.

The pointed out that it would be difficult to argue with the Centre without the support of other States because Agriculture Ministry officials were saying that Andhra Pradesh alone had been raising the demand for hike in MSP. whereas its paddy production constituted just seven per cent of the country’s production.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Chances of MSP hike for paddy remote, Centre hints
Rasta, rail rokos in A.P. today
RTC workers protest
End of season
Alumni meet
Free medical camp
Labourer drowned
Lok Satta leader begins padayatra
Farm workers reap seasonal gains
No complacency, says new DIG
BJP to agitate on MSP for paddy
CPI (M) organises picketing at 40 centres seeking pattas
Unclaimed bag detains train
Thousands witness ‘Sirimanotsavam’
Distinction for IPE
Silt to be removed at Azamabad
Yoga teacher training course
Results released
Agonising wait for Government job
‘Aksharaabhyasam’
Concern over exodus of railway employees
Essay contest on Bhagavadgita
Showroom opened
New venture

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu