Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee’s Kisan and Khet Mazdoor Congress unit has urged the Union government to fix a minimum support price (MSP) that will ensure a profit of 50 per cent over the actual cost of production for all crops.
Addressing presspersons here on Wednesday, State president of the unit Sachin Miga said that the unit would urge the Union government to take steps to announce the MSP as recommended in the report of farm scientist M.S. Swaminathan.
Mr. Miga said that the BJP had, in its election manifesto, given the assurance that it would implement the Dr. Swaminathan committee recommendations, including the one concerning the MSP. “However, now in an affidavit submitted by the Under Secretary of the Union Agriculture Department to the Supreme Court, the government has said that if MSP is announced considering a 50 per cent profit over the cost of production, the market will lose its way. This clearly shows the dual standards of the Union government,” he said.
He alleged that instead of protecting the interests of the farmers, the Union government was following an unscientific MSP policy detrimental to farmers. “It is just giving false assurances of doubling farmers’ income,” he said.
Mr. Miga urged the Union government to make clear its stand with regard to farmers, implement the Right to Remunerative Prices Act and give statutory powers to the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) to ensure income security to farmers.
He said that instead of helping farmers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was helping industrialists and had increased the MSP by only 4.18 per cent for the financial year 2016-17.
Mr. Miga said that the unit’s office-bearers were touring various districts of the State to create awareness among farmers and would soon launch an agitation to press for their demands.
KPCC office-bearers Rajashekhar Menasinakai and Babajan Mudhol were present.
