Shivraj responds: ‘Sharad Pawar rejected Swaminathan’s MSP formula, citing risk of market crash’

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday said his predecessor Sharad Pawar had refused to implement the MS Swaminathan Commission’s suggestion to add 50 per cent profit on cost to farmers in MSP, citing the risk of a market crash. The minister said Rahul Gandhi and Pawar were only paying lip service to farmers. Sharad Pawar served as the agriculture minister from May 2004 to May 2014 in the Congress-led UPA government.

Rahul Gandhi has been pressuring the Centre to bring in a law on minimum guaranteed price (MSP) for crops. Earlier this month, Gandhi had said that the INDIA bloc would put pressure on the government and ensure that farmers get a legal guarantee of MSP. “Our manifesto promised a legal guarantee of MSP. We have done a full assessment and it is feasible,” he said.

“Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar just won’t stop talking… when Sharad Pawar was the agriculture minister, he refused to implement the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations to add 50 per cent profit to the cost, saying the market would collapse,” Chouhan said while addressing the inaugural function of an agricultural exhibition at Parli in Beed district of Maharashtra.

Chouhan, who is credited with transforming the agriculture sector in Madhya Pradesh, said the Modi government calculates MSP for crops by adding 50 per cent profit to the cost. It has ensured justice for farmers in Maharashtra by addressing crop-related issues. “Maharashtra is the only state in the country that has a scheme that provides Rs 5,000 to soybean and cotton farmers,” he said.

The agriculture minister said the Centre will also work to ensure fair prices for soyabean, cotton and onion crops to farmers. He also said that farmers will get every rupee under the PM Fasal Bima Yojana scheme and reiterated the Modi government’s promise that their income will be doubled. “Farmers have complained to me that they have not received money under the PM Fasal Bima Yojana scheme. I promise them not to worry. They will get every rupee. The government will leave no stone unturned to double the income of farmers,” Chouhan said.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde demanded immediate resolution of crop woes faced by farmers. He called for a joint meeting of Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the state government and sought help in looking into critical issues related to onion, cotton, milk and milk powder and soya.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said the Centre should take a decision not to ban onion exports. “Soyabean, cotton, onion and tomatoes are fetching good prices now. But we must tell the Centre leaders to announce that onion exports will never be banned. This decision should be taken in the next 15 days,” he said.

Pawar also said that the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane has gone up in the last five years but the MSP of sugar remains unchanged. “We will have to talk to the Prime Minister,” he added.

(With tips from PTI)