Cabinet approves increase in MSP of 14 kharif crops for 2024-25 season

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved an increase in the minimum support prices (MSP) for all 14 kharif crops for the 2024-25 crop season that runs from July to June.

The increase means farmers will get around ₹2 trillion as MSP – ₹35,000 crore more than what they got in the previous season, Union railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while briefing the media on the cabinet decisions.

PM vision of policy continuity to support farmers

"The hike in MSP of kharif crops is in line with the PM Modi's third term vision of policy continuity to support farmers and boost their income," Vaishnaw added.

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The highest increase came for oilseeds nigerseed and sesamum. The hike was by ₹983 and ₹632 and was fixed at ₹8,717 and at ₹9,267 per quintal, respectively.

Pulses like tur or arhar (pigeon pea) also benefited from a big MSP hike by about ₹550 from last year to stand at ₹7,550 per quintal.

The government aims to achieve self-sufficiency in pulses by 2027.

The MSP of paddy, the main kharif crop, has been raised by ₹117 to ₹2,300 per quintal for ‘common’ grade variety and to ₹2,320 for grade A.

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Jowar, Bajra, Ragi and Maize, other major cereals' MSPs have been increased to ₹3,371-3,421, ₹2,625, ₹4,290 and ₹2,225 per quintal from last season's ₹3,180-3,225, ₹2,500, ₹3,846 and ₹2,090 a quintal.

In the case pulses and oilseeds, the increase in MSP has been between ₹124 to ₹983 compared to last year.

Moong (green gram) and urad (black gram) MSPs have been fixed at ₹8,682 and ₹7,400 per quintal, an increase of ₹124 and ₹450 from the 2023-24 kharif marketing season.

In the case of oilseeds, groundnut, sunflower seed and yellow soy bean attracted a hike of ₹406, ₹520 and ₹292 from the previous year at ₹6,783, ₹7,280 and ₹4,882 per quintal.

The MSP for cotton, an important cash crop, was fixed at ₹7,121 for the medium staple variety and ₹7,521 for the long staple variety, an increase of ₹501 for both.

The increase in MSP for khaif crops  is in line with the Union Budget 2018-19 announcement of fixing the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times of the average cost of production. 

The expected margin to farmers over their cost of production is estimated to be the highest for bajra (77%) followed by tur (59%), maize (54%) and urad (52%). For the rest of the crops, the margin is estimated to be at 50%, an official statement said.

"The imputed cost of family labour is pathetically low, as it is just about 30% of the paid-out cost and is about ₹325 per quintal for paddy. It ranges between ₹40-60 per hour across states and turns out to be ₹15,000 to ₹20,000 per cropping season for paddy. How do we expect the farmer to take care of even the most basic needs with these earnings?" said Anil Sood, an agricultural expert and a professor at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Complex Choice.