Raipur: The central government on Wednesday raised the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy marginally by Rs 72 per quintal to Rs 1,940 per quintal for the 2021-22 crop year, while the rates of other Kharif crops were also hiked.
Amid the ongoing farmer’s protest, several raised questions against the price rise. In a press conference today at the Congress headquarters Rajiv Bhavan, Chhattisgarh State Agriculture minister Ravindra Choubey criticized the Modi government for its unreliable decisions during the pandemic which inflicted no benefit to the farmers.
According to him none of the state farmers benefited from the package of Rs 20 Lakh crores initiated by the PM as relief for farmers during the pandemic.
However, the Chhattisgarh state government at the beginning of the year 2020 had set its paddy procurement price at Rs 2500 as promised by the CM in his manifesto.
As per the scheme under the Bhupesh government, the MSP for the farmers will be Rs 2540 per quintal. Additionally, a sum of Rs 9,000 per acre of all the major Kharif crops like maize, soya bean, sugarcane, Kodo-kutki, Arhar will be issued to the farmers as subsidies under the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana.
As per the CMs announcement in November 2019, a panel was constituted to examine the schemes of central and state governments for the provision of financial aid for farmers and released a detailed report on the paddy procurement scheme.