Protesting farmers moot Rs 30,000-cr govt corpus to end MSP row

Farmers protesting for years against the Union government over minimum support price (MSP) for farm produce could be inching towards a possible consensus.

While there is no official word from the government, some farmer-protestors say an agreement can be reached between the two sides if the government is ready to earmark some funds for their long-standing demands.

For the 23 crops that are under consideration for a legal guarantee on MSP, the farmers estimate that if the Union government is willing to shell out up to Rs 30,000 crore annually, it can meet the difference between the market rate of the crop and MSP. An immediate legal guarantee for MSP may then not become crucial for the farmers.

Legal guarantee for MSP has been at the heart of the rigorous protests staged on and off by farmers from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh for over four years now.

Farmers’ calculations

“It has been suggested to the Union government that if it is ready to spend Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 crore annually, farmers will be able to sell all the 23 crops at MSP. If the market value of a crop falls below the MSP, the government can fill the gap with the earmarked funds," Tezveer Singh, national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Bhagat Singh), which is in talks with the government, told The Federal.

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"Out of the 23 crops that are being considered for legal guarantee, there are at least 8-9 that do not need a legal guarantee because they tend to sell above MSP every year. It is only the remaining 15-16 crops that will benefit if the government is ready to agree to such support funds,” Singh added.

Differences in views

Experts in the Union government differ from the calculations made by the farmers. They have asked the farming community for time to study their estimates.

“The Union government wants some time to look at the calculations made by the farmers," Singh told The Federal. "The amount of Rs 26,000 crore has been calculated on the basis of the present rates of crops but this figure may change every year. The farmers believe that the Centre may need an additional Rs 6,000 crore to manage the difference every year."

“The amount of about Rs 25,000 crore has been calculated on the basis of the present rates of crops but this figure may change every year,” Tezveer Singh told The Federal. “The farmers believe that the Union government may need an additional Rs 6,000 crore to manage the difference annually.”

Another formula

Senior members of the government involved in the negotiations have suggested another possible formula to end the dragging agitation.

After about six bilateral meetings across a year, the government has suggested that it is willing to guarantee that all oilseeds and pulses produced would be procured for the next five years if the farmers agree to a pact now.

The farmers have rejected the offer. They want the authorities to ensure that all the 23 crops are included under MSP and the entire produce of these crops is bought at MSP.

Farmers dig in

“The farmers are not ready to agree to this oilseeds-and-pulses formula. We want all crops to be covered. We have also suggested that the MSP should include the cost of transportation and packaging,” Dharmendra Malik of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Arajnaitik) told The Federal. "The government has not promised anything. The negotiations are going on.

The next round of talks between the government and the farmers is due on March 19 in Chandigarh.

Some farmers complain that there is no discussion on the implementation of the MS Swaminathan Commission report, which suggested that the MSP should not just include the cost of production but also cover family labour, cost of fixed capital assets, rent on land, and equipment and interest on loans.

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Swaminathan report

“The Union government is not talking about the Swaminathan report. If it gets implemented, the cost of crops will increase and the government will need to spend at least Rs 1.65 lakh-crore every year. The government has categorically said that this will shoot up inflation and may not be feasible,” Ramandeep Singh Mann, a farmer leader in talks with the government, told The Federal.

The farmer leaders have for now agreed that MSP can continue to be calculated according to the present formula, which includes the cost of production and family labour and excludes various other demands of the farmers.

Thousands of farmers laid siege to Delhi in 2020-21 in protest against three farm legislation which they dubbed anti-farmers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi eventually repealed them. After a lull, the farmers resumed their street protests in February last year over the fact that MSP was not given legal.