The increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of paddy by Rs 100 is insignificant and would not benefit the state's farmers, Agriculture Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain said on Friday.
"The cost of farming has increased in the recent year, including the labour cost, pesticides, and fuel," Swain told reporters. As a result, farmers are already finding it difficult to stay in farming. Taking the growing cost into account, a mere Rs 100 increase in the MSP will not benefit our farmers."
"We have requested that the MSP for paddy be increased to Rs 2,930. They, on the other hand, are raising it by Rs 100 every year. While we applaud the decision, it is far from encouraging," Swain added.
"If we compute the current CPI (7.79 %) with the existing MCP, the raise should have been Rs 140," Swain added, referring to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). So, in essence, farmers will make no profit this year as well."
Tara Prasad Bahinipati, a Congress MLA, criticised both the centre government and the state government over the suffering of Odisha farmers. "With this rise, the Centre has mocked Odisha." It isn't buying parboiled rice from the state, nor is it paying the MSP that the state assembly approved previously. "Even the state government does not provide any subsidy help to the farmers," Bahinipati claimed.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) used the subject of corruption to attack the ruling party in response to the BJD. "The Odisha government should guarantee that the money the Centre is providing to the farmers is not swindled by the brokers," former BJP MLA Pradeep Purohit told the reporters. Farmers will be able to get the full benefits of their crops in this way."
The government increased the paddy minimum support price (MSP) by Rs 100 to Rs 2,040 per quintal for the crop year 2022-23 on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) recommended an increase in MSP for all mandatory Kharif (summer) crops for the 2022-23 crop year.
