MEMBERS REFERENCE SERVICE

LARRDIS
LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT
NEW DELHI

REFERENCE NOTE
For the use of Members of Parliament NOT FOR PUBLICATION

No.26/RN/Ref./July/2018
For the use of Members of Parliament Not for Publication

MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE

FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE
ources indicated at the end/in the text. This Service does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy or

Prepared by Dr. Ranbir Kumar, Additional Director and Smt. Vandana Chauhan, R.O. of Lok Sabha Secretariat
under the supervision of Smt. Kalpana Sharma, Joint Secretary and Dr. P.J. Antony, Director.reference

The Reference Note is for personal use of the Members in the discharge of their Parliamentary duties, and is
not for publication. This Service is not to be quoted as the source of information as it is based on the sources
indicated at the end/in the context.
 MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE

Introduction

The prices of agricultural commodities are inherently unstable, primarily due to the
variation in their supply, lack of market integration and information asymmetry. A very
good harvest in any year results in a sharp fall in the price of that commodity during that
year which in turn has an adverse impact on the future supply as farmers withdraw from
sowing that crop in the next / following years. This then causes paucity of supply next year
and the subsequent major price increase for consumers. To counter this, Minimum Support
Price (MSP) for major agricultural products is fixed by the Union Government each year.
The MSP is a tool which guarantees the farmers, prior to the sowing season, that a fair
amount of price is fixed for their upcoming crop to encourage higher investment and
production of agricultural commodities.

Determination of Minimum Support Price (MSP)

To protect the interests of the farmers/producers against any sharp decline in

agricultural prices, the Government has been following the agricultural price support system
since 1965. The price support system is expected to help the farmers after the harvesting
period which is associated with high probability of the agricultural prices crashing due to
surplus stock in the market. A Government guaranteed MSP to farmers is expected to cover
the cost of production together with certain profit margin to them. The MSP is fixed and
announced every year by the Central Government on the recommendations of the
Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices (CACP)1. In addition to the MSP announced
by the Central Government, the State Governments also declare a bonus, over and above the
1
The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) is an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers'
Welfare which came into existence in 1965. Its mandate is to recommend Minimum Support Price to incentivise the cultivators
to adopt modern technology and raise productivity and overall green production in line with emerging demand pattern in the
country. (CACP home page)
 3

already declared MSP so as to promote agriculture practices in their respective States. The
quantum of this bonus varies from State-to-State and from crop-to-crop. The CACP
recommends MSP for twenty-five agricultural cops every year which inter-alia includes
paddy, wheat, cotton, oilseeds, jute, pulses. (See Annexure-I)

Role of the Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices

The Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices (CACP) earlier known as
Agricultural Price Commission, came into existence in 1985. At present, the CACP
comprises of a Chairman, a Member Secretary, one Member (Official) and two Members
(non-official) representing the farming community.
In formulating the recommendation for the level of the MSP and other non-price
measures, the Commission takes into account many factors like the cost of production,
changes in input-price, crop price parity, trends in market price, demand and supply, effect
on cost of living, international price situation, etc.
The CACP recommendation for the MSP is based A2+FL cost which include all paid
out costs such as cost of hired human/animal/machine labour, rent paid on land, expense on
various inputs including seeds, fertilisers, irrigation, etc. It also includes imputed value of
wages of family labour and depreciation of farm machinery and building.
The CACP submits its recommendations to the Government in the form of Price
Policy Reports every year, separately for five groups of commodities including Kharif
crops, Rabi crops, Sugarcane, Raw Jute and Copra. Before preparing aforesaid five pricing
policy Reports, the Commission draws a comprehensive questionnaire, and sends it to all
the State Governments and concerned National organizations and the Ministries to seek
their views. Subsequently, separate meetings are also held with farmers from different
States, State Governments, organizations like the Food Corporation of India (FCI), National
Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), Cotton Corporation of
 4

India (CCI), Jute Corporation of India (JCI), trader's organizations, processing

organizations, and key Ministries. The Commission then finalizes its
recommendations/reports based on all these inputs, which are then submitted to the Central
Government. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) of the Union
Government takes a final decision on the level of the MSPs and other recommendations
made by the CACP.

Implementation of Minimum Support Price System

The MSP for all the crops under the ambit of the MSP regime is announced before
their sowing season. This makes it possible for the farmers to have an idea about the extent
of price insurance cover provided by the Government. Besides, the announcement of the
MSP, the Government organises procurement operations of these agricultural commodities
through various public and cooperative agencies. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) is a
nodal Central agency along with other State agencies which undertake the procurement of
wheat and paddy. Coarse grains are procured by the State Governments' agencies for central
pool while procurement of oilseeds, pulses, cotton etc., is done by the NAFED, Small
Farmers Agribusiness Consortiums (SFAC), Cotton Commission of India (CCI) and other
agencies under Price Support Scheme (PSS). For sugarcane, MSP has been assigned a
statutory status and termed as Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP). There is a statutory
binding on the sugar factories to pay the FRP declared by the Government each year.

MSP and its Challenges

The objective of making farming profitable cannot be achieved through the

procurement based Minimum Support Price Policy because it is neither possible nor
desirable for the Government to buy each and every commodity in the markets across the
country. Some of the challenges faced by the existing MSP policy are as follows:
 5

I. While calculating the Minimum Support Price, the CACP considers both C2 cost and
A2+FL cost. C2 cost includes notional value of imputed rental value of owned land
and interest on owned capital in addition to the A2+FL cost. But the gain on MSP is
reckoned only with respect to A2+FL cost which means the C2 cost is not considered
while calculating the net gain to farmers. For instance, MSP announced for Kharif
2017-18 shows that if the C2 cost is used as benchmark, the return for paddy crop is
only 4.4 per cent while for crops like jowar, ragi, moong and for some other crops it
is negative. Similarly, MSP announced for Rabi Crop 2018 is also showing a gain of
less than 50 per cent (See Annexure- II & III)
II. The MSP computed by the CACP, is based on an average cost taken for the whole of
the country while there is a substantial regional variation in the production cost of
different crops.
III. The successful implementation of the MSP scheme can be achieved only if the
targeted population is aware of most of the aspects of the scheme like prevailing
MSP, time of their announcement, the process of procurement, facilities provided by
the Government and payment mechanism.
IV. Public procurement at MSP is disproportionately focussed on wheat and rice and
sometimes even at the expense of other crops such as pulses and oilseeds. This results
in buffer stocks of paddy and wheat above the required norms, along with frequent
price spikes in pulses and edible oils.
V. It is also claimed that States with higher wheat and rice production such as Punjab
and Haryana get the most benefit by MSP regime while the other States with less
production lag behind under this Scheme.
VI. The difference between the international and the domestic price of crops may
influence the export and availability of crops for domestic consumption. When
international prices are much higher, farmers prefer to export, thereby resulting in
lower procurement by the Government agencies which leads to scarcity of
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foodgrains. Similarly, if the MSP exceeds international prices, it can lead to decline
in export as more farmers will sell their produce for government procurement.

Initiatives on New Procurement Mechanism

The Central government is working on a new procurement mechanism that will focus
on all crops that comes under the ambit of MSP, unlike the existing practice where wheat
and paddy get the most attention. The Government proposes to strengthen the procurement
mechanism to ensure that the farmers do not suffer from market inefficiencies as is
commonly reflected in the prices ruling lower than the notified MSP for many commodities.
Several new initiatives are under consideration and the Central Government has entrusted
Niti Aayog with the responsibility to finalise the same in consultation with the States. Niti
Aayog has discussed the following three concepts as that will address the shortcomings of
the existing schemes of procurement under MSP and offer a robust alternative system.
I. Market Assurance Scheme (MAS): Market Assurance Scheme will be a scheme for
procurement of pulses, oilseeds and coarse grains produced in the respective States.
Under this scheme, it is proposed that the States/Union Territories (UTs) will make
procurement for notified crops, except rice and wheat at MSP through State Level
Agencies directly from the farmers. The MSP value of the procured crops under
MAS will be transferred directly to the bank account of beneficiary farmers. The
entire decision for the procurement upto the level of disposal will be taken by the
concerned States/UTs. The Central Governments will compensate the losses upto 40
per cent of the MSP values of procured commodities for States and upto 50 per cent
for Himalayan and North Eastern States.
II. Price Deficiency Procurement Scheme (PDPS): Under this scheme, if the sale price
is below the average wholesale price for the selected commodities at the end of every
month in the States/UTs, the farmers may be compensated to the difference between
MSP and the actual price that is subject to a ceiling which may not exceed 25 per
 7

cent of the MSP. The compensation amount will be directly credited to the farmer's
account. The losses incurred on the implementation of this scheme will be shared
between the Central and State Governments. Madhya Pradesh is already
implementing "Bhavantar Yojana" on the line of PDPS on a pilot basis.
III. Private Procurement and Stockist Scheme: Under this scheme, private entities will
be invited to participate in the procurement of crops through a transparent process.
The Government will provide some tax incentives and a commission to the private
entities involved in the procurement process as it will reduce the financial
implications for the Government. It will also reduce the government's liability for
storage and post procurement management and disposal.

Conclusion

The Minimum Support Price is a key policy of the Union Government to determine
floor price of major agricultural commodities so that the farmers are protected from
middlemen and the fluctuating market conditions so as to provide them an assured market
in addition to a minimum assured return. However, there are plenty of hurdles in the
implementation of the MSP scheme, like the low procurement of crops other than wheat and
paddy, delay in the announcement of the MSP, lack of proper awareness about the MSP
among farmers, heavy transportation cost, lack of storage facilities, etc. A proper
implementation of the proposed concept of the Market Assurance Scheme and the Price
Deficiency Procurement Scheme, which will decentralise the process of procurement of
coarse grains, oilseeds and pulses, etc. may prove beneficial to the farmers who suffer by
losing their investments in the case of falling price in the market dominated by the
middlemen.
 8

References:
1. Evaluation Study On Efficacy of Minimum Support Prices (MSP) on Farmers 2016,
pg.13
URL:
http://niti.gov.in/writereaddata/files/writereaddata/files/document_publication/MSP-
report.pdf

2. Minimum Support Price and Farmers’ Income A Case Study for Wheat Production in
Chittorgarh, Rajasthan (India) pg.7, URL: http://www.cuts-
ccier.org/pdf/Minimum_Support_Price_and_Farmers_Income.pdf

3. Standing Committee Report No. 47, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare,
2017-18, pg.10, 14, 29, 47,
URL: http://164.100.47.193/lsscommittee/Agriculture/16_Agriculture_47.pdf

4. PIB Release dated 09.03.2018

5. https://cacp.dacnet.nic.in/content.aspx?pid=32

6. Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3238 dated 23.03.2018

URL: http://164.100.47.5/qsearch/QResult.aspx

7. Minimum Support Price: Harsh Reality vs Good intent dated 15.03.2016

URL: https://sites.ndtv.com/cultivatinghope/project/minimum-support-price-harsh-
reality-vs-good-intent/

8. Minimum Support Price and Farmers’ Income A Case Study for Wheat Production in
Chittorgarh, Rajasthan (India) pg. 2,3,7 URL: http://www.cuts-
ccier.org/pdf/Minimum_Support_Price_and_Farmers_Income.pdf

9. Website of Food Corporation of India, URL: http://fci.gov.in/procurements.php

 9

Annexure-I

Minimum Support Prices Recommended by

CACP and Fixed by Government (Crop Year)
2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Commodity
Reco Fixed Reco Fixed Reco Fixed Reco Fixed Reco Reco Reco Fixed Reco Fixed Reco Fixed Reco Fixed

Paddy Common # 950 1000¥ 1000 1000 1080 1080 1250 1250 1310 1310 1360 1360 1410 1410 1470 1470 1550 1550

Paddy (F)/Grade'A' 980 1030¥ 1030 1030 1110 1110 1280 1345 1345 1400 1400 1450 1450 1510 1510 1590 1590

Jowar-Hybrid 840 840 880 880 980 980 1500 1500 1500 1500 1530 1530 1570 1570 1625 1625 1700 1700

Jowar-Maldandi 860 860 900 900 1000 1000 1520 1520 1550 1550 1590 1590 1650 1650 1725 1725
Bajra 840 840 880 880 980 980 1175 1175 1175 1250 1250 1250 1275 1275 1330 1330 1425 1425

Ragi 915 915 965 965 1050 1050 1500 1500 1500 1500 1550 1550 1650 1650 1725 1725 1900 1900

1365 1365 1425 1425

Maize 840 840 880 880 980 980 1175 1175 1310 1310 1310 1310 1325 1325

4625 ℭ 5250 5450€

Tur (Arhar) 2300 2300 2800 3000* 3100 3200* 4000# 3850 3850 4300 4350 4350 4425 4625§ 5050

Moong 2760 2760 3170 3170* 3400 3500* 4500# 4400 4500 4500 4600 4600 4650 4850§ 4800 5225 ℭ 5375 5575€

Urad 2520 2520 2900 2900* 3300 3300* 4300 4300 4300 4300 4350 4350 4425 4625§ 4575 5000 ℭ 5200 5400€

Groundnut 2100 2100 2300 2300 2700 2700 3700 3700 4000 4000 4000 4000 4030 4030 4120 4220℧ 4250 4450€

Sunflower Seed 2215 2215 2350 2350 2800 2800 3700 3700 3700 3700 3750 3750 3800 3800 3850 3950 ℧ 4000 4100$

Soyabean Black 1350 1350 1400 1400 1650 1650 2200 2200 2500 2500 2500 2500 - 2675 2775℧ 2850 3050€

2675 ℧
Soyabean Yellow 1390 1390 1440 1440 1690 1690 2240 2560 2560 2560 2560 2600 2600 2775

Sesamum 2850 2850 2900 2900 3400 3400 4200 4200 4500 4500 4600 4600 4700 4700 4800 5000ↂ 5200 5300$

3725 ℧ 3950 4050$

Nigerseed 2405 2405 2450 2450 2900 2900 3500 3500 3500 3500 3600 3600 3650 3650 3825

Medium Staple Cotton ^ 2500 2500 2500 2500 2800 2800 3600 3600 3700 3700 3750 3750 3800 3800 3860 3860 4020 4020
 10

Long Staple Cotton ^^ 3000 3000 3000 3000 3300 3300 3900 3900 4000 4000 4050 4050 4100 4100 4160 4160 4320 4320

RABI

Wheat 1100 1100 1120 1120& 1285 1285 1285£ 1350 1400 1400 1450 1450 1525 1525 1625 1625 1735 1735

Barley 750 750 780 780 980 980 980 980 1100 1100 1150 1150 1225 1225 1325 1325 1410 1410

Gram 1760 1760 2100 2100 2800 2800 3000 3000 3100 3100 3175 3175 3425 3425£ 3800 4000µ 4250 4400₩

Lentil (Masur) 1870 1870 2250 2250 2800 2800 2900 2900 2950 2950 3075 3075 3325 3325£ 3800 3950 µ µ 4150 4250$

Rapeseed/ mustard 1830 1830 1850 1850 2500 2500 3000 3000 3050 3050 3100 3100 3350 3350 3600 3700¤ 3900 4000$

Safflower 1680 1680 1800 1800 2500 2500 2800 2800 3000 3000 3050 3050 3300 3300 3600 3700¤ 4000 4100$

OTHER COMMERCIAL CROPS

Jute (TD5) 1575 1575 1675 1675 2200 2200 2300 2300 2400 2400 2700 2700 3200 3200 > 3500 3500 3700 3700

Sugarcane 139.12 139.12 145 145 170 170 210 210 220 220 230 230 230 230 255 255

Copra (Milling) 4450 4450 4525 4525 5100 5100 5100 5250 5250 5250 5550 5550 5950 5950 6500 6500 7500 7500

Copra (Ball) 4700 4700 4775 4775 5350 5350 5350 5500 5500 5500 5830 5830 6240 6240 6785 6785 7750 7750

¤ : Including bonus of Rs. 100 per quintal. µ: Including bonus of Rs. 200 per quintal. µµ: Including bonus of Rs. 150 per quintal.

£: Additional bonus Rs, 75 per quintal. ℭ: Included bonus Rs. 425 per Quintal, ℧: Included bonus Rs. 100 per Quintal, ↂ: Included bonus Rs.200 per Quintal
§: Included Bonus Rs. 200 per quintal >: MSP of TDN3 (equivalent to TD5 of old grading) grade of raw jute for 2016-17 season.
$: Included bonus of Rs 100 per quintal

Source: Website of CACP

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Annexure-II
MSPs Recommended for Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2017-18
(`/qtl)
Projected Gross Gross
Costs for Crop Recommended Margin over Margin over
MSP for KMS (C2) w.r.t
Crops Season 2017-18 (A2+FL) w.r.t.
recommended recommended
A2+FL C2
MSP (percent) MSP (percent)
Paddy 1117 1484 1550 (5.44) 38.76 4.44
Common
Paddy Grade A - - 1590 (5.30) -
Jowar- Hybrid 1556 2089 1700 (4.62) 9.25 -22.88
Jowar- - - 1725 (4.55) -
Maldandi
Bajra 949 1278 1425 (7.14) 50.16 11.50
Ragi 1861 2351 1900 (10.14) 2.10 -19.18
Maize 1044 1396 1425 (4.40) 36.49 2.07
Arhar (Tur) 3318 4612 5250 (13.51) 58.23 13.83
Moong 4286 5700 5375 (11.98) 25.41 -5.70
Urad 3265 4517 5200 (13.66) 59.26 15.12
Groundnut 3159 4089 4250 (3.16) 34.54 3.93
Sunflower 3481 4526 4000 (3.90) 14.91 -11.62
Seed*
Soyabean 2121 2921 2850 (6.54) 34.37 -2.38
(Yellow)
Sesamum 4067 5706 5200 (8.33) 27.86 -9.35
Nigerseed 3912 5108 3950 (6.04) 0.97 -22.67
Cotton 3276 4376 4020 (4.15) 22.71 -8.13
(Medium
Staple)
Cotton (Long - - 4320 (3.85) -
Staple)
Note: Figures in parenthesis represent the percentage difference in MSP over the previous year.
# Additional bonus of ` 200 @ Additional bonus of `

425 ^ Additional bonus of ` 100

*Corresponding to oil content of 35 percent

Source: CACP Price Policy Report for KHARIF, 2017-18

 12

Annexure-III
MSPs Recommended for Rabi Marketing Season (RMS)2018-19
Crops Projected costs for CropRecommended MSP forGross Margin overMargin over (C2) w.r.t.
Season 2018-19 RMS 2018-19 (A2+FL) w.r.t. recommended MSP
recommended MSP (percent)
(percent)
A2+FL C2
Wheat 817 1256 1735(6.8) 112.36 38.13
[6.8]
Barley 845 1190 1410 (6.4) 66.86 18.48
[6.4]
Gram 2461 3526 4250 (6.3) 72.69 20.53
[11.8]
Lentil 2366 3727 4150 (501) 75.40 11.34
[9.2]
R&M 2123 3086 3900* (5.4) 83.70 26.33
[8.3]
Safflower 3125 3979 4000 (8.1) 28.00 0.52
[11.1]

Note: *Corresponding to oil content of 35 percent

MSPs of 2016-17 and 2017-18 are inclusive of bonus
Figures in parenthesis () represent increase in MSP (including bonus) over the previous year
Figures in parenthesis [] represent increase in MSP (excluding bonus) over the previous year

Source: CACP Price Policy Report for RABI, 2018-19