Government has hiked minimum support price for major kharif crops
Keen to up the tempo on agricultural reforms, mindful of the farmers agitation over the contentious farm laws and the controversial minimum support price (MSP) issue, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the increase in support price for kharif crops for the 2021-22 season.
The MSP for major crops like sesamum, tur and urad have been hiked, with the Minister for Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar saying that in case of sesamum, there has been the highest absolute increase of price at Rs 452 per quintal, followed by tur and urad. MSP for both have been fixed at Rs 300 per quintal.
Centre must scrap curbs on import of pulses
May 13, 2021
The quantity restrictions have outlived their utility
The pulses market deserves close policy attention. The quantitative restrictions (QRs) imposed by the government on select pulses like tur/arhar (pigeonpea), urad (black matpe) and moong (green gram) in August 2017 are possibly outliving their utility under the present circumstances.
The rationale that existed nearly four years ago to prop up weak domestic prices and support growers here from the so-called onslaught of imported pulses does not apply any more. Current market prices of these pulses are well above the minimum support price (MSP) announced by the government; and importantly, QRs have not helped expand domestic cultivation to any significant extent.