MP NEWS: Meeting of western states to determine MSP of Kharif crops

Bhopal . The meeting of western states was organized by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India at Kushabhau Thackeray International Convention Centre, Bhopal. In the meeting, the determination of minimum support price for Kharif crops for the year 2024-25 was discussed. Along with Madhya Pradesh, members from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Union Territory Dadra Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu participated in the meeting.

In the meeting, Chairman, Agricultural Costs and Prices Commission, Government of India, Vijaypal Sharma requested all the stakeholders of the Commission, farmers, government, traders and other participants to give recommendations to the Commission after a comprehensive discussion among themselves. He said that in the stakeholder discussions, recommendations should be made on the basis of assessment of import-export of Kharif crops, pulses and oilseeds, consumer demand, procurement, cost of production, research and support price.

Member Secretary, Agricultural Costs and Prices Commission, Shri Anupam Mitra requested the states to take recommendations from the Commission for support prices for paddy, millet, maize, soybean, groundnut, jowar, pulses-oilseed crops and spice crops. Commission member Shri Ratanlal Daga expressed the need for strengthening of procurement system, proper arrangement of irrigation as well as proper arrangements for marketing to reduce the cost prices.

Chairman Agricultural Costs and Prices Commission, Maharashtra Pasha Patel recommended to the Commission the proposed rates of minimum support price for various Kharif crops mainly soybean and cotton by different states. He gave information about the difference by doing a comparative and factual analysis of the rates of different states. He said that crops should be decided according to global warming and rainfall conditions.

The technical session of the meeting was inaugurated by Additional Chief Secretary Farmers Welfare and Agricultural Development Madhya Pradesh Ashok Baranwal. He placed before the Commission the situation related to Madhya Pradesh’s irrigation, irrigation pumps, agricultural mechanization, tractors and special place in the country in the production of various crops. He requested to increase the limits set by the Government of India on various agricultural produce in procurement. Other members also expressed their views in the meeting.

In the meeting, the outline, activities, functioning and objectives of the Agricultural Costs and Prices Commission were highlighted in detail. In the meeting, emphasis was laid on strengthening farmer committees, popularizing custom hiring centres, expanding the area of millets in Rajasthan-Maharashtra. In the meeting, emphasis was also laid on increasing production to become self-reliant in the field of pulses production.