Stop Lies, Ensure Legal Guarantee of MSP, Says AIKS

New Delhi: The All-India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has condemned the Central government for making “false claims” on Minimum Support Price or MSP, and has urged it to put on hold this announcement and come out with a revised MSP only after talks with the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM)

In a press statement, the farmers’ organisation said the Centre’s claim that the MSP for 14 kharif crops announced recently was 50% more than the cost of production, was “far from truth.”

“This is the situation for all crops as the calculations of the Union Government agency, the CACP, is way below the projection of the States. Clearly, the BJP-led Government has not taken into account the increasing costs of production like high fertilizer prices, irrigation

costs etc. They have also not bothered to give even scant respect to the States and their projections,’ read the statement.

Read the full statement below:

Stop Lies and Deceit on MSP! Stop Betrayal of Farmers!

MSP of Kharif Crops Far Below C2+50% Ensure Legal Guarantee of MSP@C2+50%

The Narendra Modi led BJP Government is yet again resorting to lies and deceit on the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) of Kharif crops by claiming that it is 50 per cent more than the cost of production. With a deceitful sleight of hand, the Information and Broadcasting Minister announced that the MSP approved for Kharif crops was 1.5 times more than the cost of production. The corporate media has quickly latched on to this claim and is carrying out the Government’s propaganda without even the least bit of critical analysis. Clearly, the claims are far from the truth, rather a blatant lie as the promise made in 2014 was to implement the Swaminathan Commission recommendation of C2+50%. The goal posts have been conveniently shifted to A2+FL+50% formula which is way below C2+50%.

Even going by the conservative cost estimates of the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) the C2+50% is far above the MSP in all the 14 Kharif crops as shown in the table below.

The discrepancy in cost calculation is further brought out when one takes the weighted average of State C2 Projections. In Paddy despite the fact that Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Jammu and Kashmir (both under Union Government) show absurdly low C2 costs of Rs.1000/Qtl and Rs.1017/Qtl, the weighted average C2 costs would come to Rs.2,188/Qtl and C2+50% will be Rs.3,282/Qtl or Rs.3,555/Qtl if the two are excluded. In that case in Paddy the losses suffered by farmers will be even higher at Rs.1,255/Qtl. Taking the example of Cotton as per the State C2 projections the C2+50% will be Rs.11,163/Qtl or a loss of Rs.4,042/Qtl. In Maize, the C2+50% as per State projection will be Rs.3378/Qtl, implying that at current MSP losses incurred will be Rs.1,153/Qtl. This is the situation for all crops as the calculations of the Union Government agency, the CACP is way below the projection of the States. Clearly, the BJP led Government has not taken into account the increasing costs of production like high fertilizer prices, irrigation

costs etc. They have also not bothered to give even scant respect to the States and their projections.

Ashwini Vaishnaw who is also the Union Minister of Railways should rather than making false claims on MSP spend more time to ensure the safety of railway passengers and adequately compensate the victims of recurrent train accidents. As the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting he should desist from spreading misinformation as well as carrying out Goebbelsian propaganda. All India Kisan Sabha demands that the Narendra Modi led Government put on hold this announcement and only after talks with the Samyukta Kisan Morcha come with a revised MSP in accordance with the promise of C2+50%. AIKS calls upon all its units to expose the dual speak of the BJP Government and the Prime Minister and rise in protest against the anti-farmer Government.

Sd/-                                                                    Sd/-

Ashok Dhawale                                             Vijoo Krishnan

President                                                         General Secretary