NEW DELHI (PRESS RELEASE)
All India Kisan Sabha, AIKS condemns the callous manner in which the Narendra Modi led BJP Government has announced the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for Rabi Marketing Season, 2022-23 without following the C2+50% formula or even taking into account increased costs of inputs and inflation.
As usual the Government and its propaganda machinery are claiming it to be the “Highest Ever”. In reality the increase in wheat prices is merely 2.03 percent from Rs.1975/Qtl to Rs.2015/Qtl, the lowest increase in 12 years. The MSPs of other crops have meagre nominal increase ranging from 2.14 percent to 8.60 percent while in real terms in all crops the farmers will suffer huge losses.
At 2021-22 costs if MSP was calculated as per C2+50% it should have been Rs.2195.5/Qtl for wheat. A full year after with increased costs of cultivation the MSP for marketing season 2022-23 is still Rs.180/Qtl below this figure. Similarly for Barley C2+50 last year was Rs.2106/Qtl while MSP announced this year is Rs.1635/Qtl or Rs.471/Qtl lesser. MSP of Gram for 2022-23 is Rs.5230/Qtl while the C2+50% for 2021-22 was Rs.6018/Qtl, i.e, Rs.788/Qtl lesser; for Lentil (Masur) MSP for 2022-23 is Rs.5,500/Qtl while C2+50% for 2021-22 was Rs.6306/Qtl or Rs.806/Qtl lesser; MSP for Rapeseed and Mustard for 2022-23 is Rs.5050/Qtl in comparison to C2+50% of Rs.5205/Qtl for 2021-22 it is lesserby Rs.155/Qtl; for safflower MSP announced is Rs.5441/Qtl while last year’s C2+50% was Rs.7362/Qtl or Rs.1921/Qtl lesser. The losses to farmers will be much higher as per latest costs of cultivation. The CACP has not put up the Price Policy Report for Rabi Marketing Season, 2022-23 yet on its website.
Only a small section of farmers get to sell their produce at MSP as there is no guaranteed procurement. The last year’s report on price policy also shows that in 2020-21 even as this is the case there has been a drastic fall in number of beneficiaries who get even this unremunerative MSP, especially for pulses and oilseeds. In the absence of guaranteed procurement even this MSP is not ensured for farmers. This is the reason why farmers are demanding MSP at C2+50% as a legal right.
AIKS demands that the BJP Government come with a revised announcement in line with the farmers’ demand for MSP as per C2+50% formula. AIKS calls upon all its units to rise in protest and expose the farce enacted by the BJP Government.