The Centre has reappointed Vijay Paul Sharma as chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) after he resigned in May last year at the end of his five-year term.
The chairmanship of the CACP will be critical in the proposed committee on the minimum support price (MSP) and other reforms.
Sharma, a professor at the Centre for Management in Agriculture at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, was appointed CACP Chairman for the first time in June 2016.
He was critical in agreeing to the government's decision to set the MSP at 50% of the cost of production. The MSP was previously recommended by a government-controlled body-based not only on input costs, but also on other factors such as global and domestic prices, crop acreage, and so on.
While farmers demanded that the Swaminathan Commission Report on MSPs be accepted, the government agreed to fix MSPs at cost of production on an A2+FL basis, and CACP began recommending MSPs accordingly.
After Sharma's tenure expired, Naveen P Singh, a CACP member, took over as chairman. Last November, the Agriculture Ministry began the process of recruiting two members from the farming community from the north and west zones, which had been vacant for several years.
The government has yet to form the committee on MSP and other reforms proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his announcement of the repeal of the three farm laws.
One of the main demands was that MSPs be legally guaranteed so that no farmer sells his produce below a certain price, ensuring him a minimum return.
The function of CACP:
The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, established in 1965, is an apex advisory body under the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. It’s an expert body that recommends the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) by taking into consideration various factors.
