Govt approves hike in MSP of kharif crops

The government on Wednesday sharply hiked the minimum support price (MSP) for pulses in a bid to boost domestic output and check price rise.

For the 2015-16 kharif season, farmers would get a bonus of Rs 200 per quintal over and above the MSP for moong, arhar and urad, said Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also approved modest hike in MSP for other kharif crops.
“The MSP for arhar and urad dal has been fixed at Rs 4,625 per quintal, including the bonus of Rs 200,” Singh said, adding that the MSP for moong would be Rs 4,850 per quintal.

The CCEA also hiked the MSP for paddy by Rs 50 per quintal for common variety to Rs 1,410 per quintal and Grade A variety to Rs 1,450 per quintal for this year.
Among the cash crops, the MSP of cotton has been raised by Rs 50 to Rs 4,100 per quintal for long staple and Rs 3,800 per quintal for medium staple cotton for 2015-16.
Among other crops, CCEA has raised the MSP of ragi by Rs 100 per quintal to Rs 1,650 per quintal; jowar - Rs 40 per quintal to Rs 1,590; bajra - Rs 25 per quintal to Rs 1,275 and maize by Rs 15 per quintal to Rs 1,324 for 2015-16.

Among oilseeds, the MSP of sunflower seed has been increased by Rs 50 to Rs 3,800 per quintal from over the last year, while that of yellow soyabean price has been hiked by Rs 40 to Rs 2,600 per quintal and groundnut MSP by Rs 30 to Rs 4,030 per quintal for 2015-16 kharif season.

The MSP of sesamum seed has been raised by Rs 100 to Rs 4,700 per quintal and nigerseed to by Rs 50 to Rs 3,650 per quintal for this year.

Paddy is the main crop grown in the kharif (summer) season. Sowing of kharif crops has already started with the onset of the southwest monsoon in June. The government fixes MSP for farm produce on the recommendation of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices.

“This (increase in pulses MSP) is expected to give a strong signal to farmers to increase acreage and invest for increase in productivity of pulses,” an official statement said, adding that the changes would be effective from October 2015.