AIKS criticises announcement on MSP

New Delhi: All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has condemned  the government  for what described as “farcical announcement” of the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for Rabi Marketing Season 2024-25 claiming it is “at least 1.5 times the All India weighted average Cost of Production, will ensure remunerative prices to farmers and incentivise crop diversification”.

In a statement  AIKS said that the  claim that the Rs150 per quintal hike in MSP of wheat is “highest” since 2014 is hollow when one considers the fact that the MSP announced does not take into account the increased costs of production for which the policies of the BJP Government are responsible. It is a dishonest attempt to deceive the farmers and it needs to be called out; the Cost of Production mentioned is not the comprehensive cost C2 but A2 FL which is much lower. The BJP Government is peddling lies to mislead farmers especially in the election-going sStates of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, the statement said.

It added that the  stark nature of difference in A2 FL and C2 costs as well as State proposals and CACP proposals can be illustrated with certain glaring examples.  The statement said that  the  farmers of India have seen through the repeated betrayals by government and their charade of doubling farmers’ income. Even the unremunerative MSP announced is only notional. It is not accruable to majority of the farmers since there is no procurement. This is the reason why farmers remain steadfast in the demand for a legal guarantee for MSP and assured procurement.