In a bid to boost production of pulses and oilseeds and reduce the
country’s dependence on imports, the Centre has hiked the Minimum
Support Price (MSP) and announced an increase in bonus for these
commodities grown in the kharif season.
The bonus on the three main varieties of pulses — tur, arhar and moong —
has more than doubled, while the Centre has also announced an increase
in the incentive for oilseeds production. Support prices for all other
kharif crops, such as paddy, jowar, bajra and maize, have seen a modest
increase. The revision will be effective from October 1.
“A bonus of ₹425 per quintal will be paid for dalhan (pulses), ₹100 for tilhan (oilseed) and ₹200 for til
(sesamum),” Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh told reporters after
a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday.
“This is expected to give a strong price signal to farmers to bring more acreage under these crops,” he added.
However, farmers are not happy with the quantum of the increase in the
procurement price and incentive considering the rise in cost of
production.
Targeting lower imports
The hike in bonus announced for pulses and oilseeds assumes significance as the country is highly import dependent for these commodities.
The hike in bonus announced for pulses and oilseeds assumes significance as the country is highly import dependent for these commodities.
Edible oils, followed by pulses, are the top two agri-commodities
imported by the country to meet the domestic consumption as local
production has not kept pace with the rising demand.
Further, weak rainfall during the last two years has impacted production
of pulses, resulting in a sharp increase in prices this year and
triggering record imports of 5.79 million tonnes in 2015-16. Also, the
sharp rally in prices has forced the Government to intervene and create a
buffer stock of pulses.
The MSP for paddy was hiked by ₹60/quintal (4.3 per cent) to
₹1,470/quintal for the common variety and ₹1,510/quintal for the ‘Grade
A’ variety. Jowar, bajra, maize and ragi, too, will get 3.5-4.5 per cent
more.
Source : Business Line
No comments:
Post a Comment