Bhubaneswar: The State Cabinet resolved Wednesday to move the Centre reiterating its demand for implementation of MS Swaminathan Committee’s recommendations on Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all crops and doubling of farmers’ income. Headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Cabinet passed a resolution in this regard unanimously. The MS Swaminathan Committee had recommended that ‘MSP should be at least 50 per cent more than the weighted average cost of production’.
“The Odisha government considers that the MSP is an important tool for income generation of the farmers. The income of farmers needs to keep pace with the growth of income in other sectors and the rise in the costs of cultivation. The MSP of any agricultural produce has to be fixed in a holistic manner so as to make farming operations profitable and to safeguard the farmers against all types of risks,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister BK Arukha said after the meeting.
Odisha has been dedicatedly working towards development of farmers and is committed to the doubling of farmers’ income, he said, adding, all government policies and programmes, including the new Agricultural Policy 2020—SAMRUDHI, are aimed at achieving rapid agricultural growth through improved profitability, inclusivity and sustainability.
The Odisha Assembly had earlier passed unanimous resolutions in this regard in 2017 and again in 2018.
The Assembly, in March 2017, had unanimously adopted a resolution recommending the Odisha government to urge the Centre to increase the MSP of common paddy to Rs 2,930 per quintal. Though the Speaker sought an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard, he is yet to respond.
