Legalizing Minimum Support Price Regime in India

One major reform introduced in Indian agriculture during the 1960's had been the introduction of Minimum Support Prices (MSPs). MSP is a form of market intervention by Government of India to insure agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices. MSP, it has been pointed out, has benefitted only 6% of the farmers in the country, the upper crust of the peasantry, primarily, the producers of two crops, Wheat & Rice, who hail from the States of Punjab and Haryana, at the cost of 94% of the small & marginal farmers.In the ongoing protest by the farmers, the farmers' Unions have been demanding legalization of MSP along with repeal of the three farm laws. They also want the government to make it mandatory for the corporates. They allege that, through the enactment of the three farm laws, the government intends to do away with APMCs & the MSP. The study presented here has tried to take stock of the viewpoints of those, supporting legalization of MSP, as against those opposing it, and tried to arrive at a balanced & realistic picture as regards the provision of MSP, as also the likely repercussions.