The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the increased in Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for kharif crops for 2023-24 season.
The protesting farmers claimed that the government was not buying sunflower seeds at the minimum support price, and as a result, they were forced to sell their produce to private buyers at around Rs 4,000 per quintal against Rs 6,400 MSP.
Payments worth Rs 159,659.59 crore have been made to as many as 1.12 crore farmers by the centre for having procured paddy at Minimum Support Price (MSP), the Union food ministry said Friday.
Wheat procurement till Wednesday during RMS 2023-24 is 195 lakh metric tonne (LMT) whereas in RMS 2022-23, the procurement was 188 LMT. This has largely benefitted the farmers.
Procurement of chickpea crop from the Rabi season at assured Minimum Support Price (MSP) is currently underway and its stocks this year are expected to rise to a new high, according to a report published by Global Pulse Confederation.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday slammed the central government for offering low minimum support prices to the farmers which would not cover the cost of production.
The ruling Biju Janta Dal on Friday demanded to restart of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) in the interests of the household food security of the poor and the farmers.
Farmers staged a protest on the railway track at Batala railway station for three hours on Sunday against the "forcible acquisition of their land" and in support of their demand for an increase in the minimum support price of sugarcane.