Delhi to introduce MSP for farmers based on Swaminathan Commission Report

The Delhi government has decided to introduce Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farmers based on the report of the MS Swaminathan Commission, minister Gopal Rai said Monday.

The development minister said the government will hold a meeting with agrarian experts on Tuesday to discuss the matter.

The move comes just months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. There are about 20,000 farmers in the national capital.

Talking to reporters, Mr Rai said neither the Modi government nor the previous Congress-led UPA regime implemented the Commission''s report.

"Government has decided to introduce MSP for Delhi's farmers based on the Swaminathan Commission's report. We formed a three-member committee in December to study the report. The committee has submitted its own report on the MSP for Delhi's farmers.

"We will hold a conference on this issue tomorrow. The three-member committee''s report will be put before experts for suggestions," Mr Rai said.

He said that once the MSP is finalised, the government will hold meetings with farmers, seeking their views and thereafter it will be sent to the Cabinet.

In its 2006 report, the National Commission on Farmers' chairman M S Swaminathan suggested the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) to fix MSP at least 50 per cent more than the weighted average cost of production.

This recommendation was not incorporated in the National policy for farmers 2007.

However, recently the government has increased the MSP for all Kharif and Rabi crops and other commercial crops for the season 2018-19 with a return of at least 50 per cent over cost of production, the Union agriculture ministry had said in a statement in December last year.

-PTI