By IANS,
New Delhi : In a bid to boost procurement of grains and provide competitive prices to farmers, the minimum support price (MSP) for rabi crop for the 2008-09 season has been raised, the government said here Thursday.
The MSP of wheat, which earlier was Rs.1,000 per quintal for the 2008-09 marketing season, has been raised by Rs.80 to Rs.1,080 per quintal.
The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs in its meeting held Wednesday. Earlier, the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) had recommended revising the MSP for wheat to help farmers get a better price.
Procurement of wheat, a major rabi crop, starts from April. Private procurement stood at 78.40 million tonnes, while the state procurement was 22.6 million tonnes in the last season.
Incidentally, the announcement of the wheat’s MSP hike was delayed because of the impending elections, and required approval of the Election Commission.
The MSP for barley was raised by Rs.35 to Rs.680 per quintal, gram by Rs.130 to Rs.1,730 per quintal, masur (lentil) by Rs.170 to Rs.1,650, and that for rapeseed and mustard by Rs.30 each to Rs.1,830 per quintal, respectively.