Question : Remunerative Prices to Farmers

(a) whether it is a fact that the Government has failed to provide remunerative prices to farmers of the country while the cost of production has gone up rapidly and prices of crops have gone down drastically since 2015 and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether it is also a fact that non-remunerative price of crops to farmers is forcing them to hand over their land to industries for corporate farming; and

(c) if so, the details thereof and the reasons for providing non-remunerative prices to farmers?

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
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(a) to (c): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.



STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 288 DUE FOR REPLY ON 1ST JANUARY, 2019.
(a): No, Madam. Government fixes Minimum Support Price (MSP) of 22 mandated agricultural crops and fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane on the basis of recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), after considering the views of State Governments and Central Ministries/Departments concerned and other relevant factors. CACP is an expert body tasked to recommend MSPs after a broad consultative process taking into consideration a host of factors. These MSP crops cover approximately 99 per cent of the total agricultural production in the country.
The Union Budget for 2018-19 had announced the pre-determined principle to keep MSP at levels of one and half times the cost of production. Accordingly, Government has increased the MSPs for all notified Kharif, Rabi and other commercial crops with a return of atleast 50 per cent of cost of production for the agricultural year 2018-19. This decision of the Government was a historic one as it fulfills the commitment to the farmers to provide 50 per cent return over all-India weighted average cost of production for the first time for all mandated crops.
The prices of agricultural produce are determined by supply and demand conditions in the market on a day-to-day basis. The prices of agricultural produce tend to fall immediately after harvest due to increase in market arrival of new crops in a lumpy manner. The cost of production and wholesale prices of some of the major MSP crops since 2015-16 are given in Annex 1.
(b): There is no evidence to suggest at all-India level that non- remunerative price of crops to farmers is forcing them to hand over their land to industries for corporate farming.
(c): Does not arise.