BHUBANESWAR: The state government and the Centre have locked horns over the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy with agriculture minister Arun Kumar Sahoo on Friday reiterating the demand to fix the MSP at Rs 2,930 per quintal for Odisha.
The move comes two days after the Centre increased the MSP of paddy (common varieties) to Rs 1,940 per quintal for the 2021-22.
It is a hike of Rs 72 per quintal from the previous year.
“The all-India MSP will not help farmers in the state as they face frequent natural calamities like cyclones, floods and droughts almost every alternate year.
Despite adversities, Odisha has witnessed a record production of foodgrain, especially paddy.
Odisha’s farm economy is largely based on paddy production and its procurement by state-sponsored agencies,” Sahoo said.
Calling the recent hike of paddy MSP meagre, the agriculture minister said it would not help the farmers in the state.
The Centre should consider increasing it further for Odisha for the benefit of the farmers.
He suggested that the Centre should make the MSP of paddy at least 50% more than the average cost of production, while it should fix the price of other crops in accordance with the recommendation of the National Commission on Farmers led by noted agriculture scientist, M S Swaminathan.
In 2015, the state government had assessed the cost of production of per quintal of paddy at Rs 2,344.
As the state assembly had earlier passed unanimous resolutions twice in 2017 and again in 2018 to increase the MSP of paddy to Rs 2,930 per quintal, which is at least 25% more than the cost of production, the agriculture minister said the Centre should consider it immediately.
“The government has written letters to the Centre in the past four years seeking the increase in MSP to Rs 2,930 a quintal.
I will also write again putting forth our demand,” Sahoo said.