Where MSP fell short of minimum support: procurement practices and variety of produce covered

Farmers protest against the passing of the agriculture reform bills in the Parliament, during the ‘rail roko’ protest at Devi Dasspura village in Amritsar, India on September 25, 2020

Synopsis

Differences over calculation of MSP, dwindling procurement infrastructure, variance in policies across states, and lack of support for lower-quality produce and small surpluses handicapped the framework. Some policies even resulted in lopsided cropping patterns.

The recent farm bills have led to a political backlash in Punjab and Haryana but failed to evoke similar reactions in other agrarian heartlands. Had the critics of the bills been right that by enacting the farm bills, the federal government was depriving farmers of a minimum guaranteed price, the move should have created panic among two-thirds of the populace dependent on agriculture. Not only has that not happened, instead the debate has

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Oct 8, 2020, 09:54 AM IST

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