By IANS,
New Delhi : The government Friday said it has asked the Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices (CACP) to submit a revised proposal on the minimum support price of wheat for the current fiscal.
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told the Rajya Sabha that the CACP had recommended to keep the minimum support price of wheat at last year’s level. However, the ministry asked it to submit a revised proposal on the remunerative price of wheat.
“We have not accepted this year’s recommendation (submitted by the CACP),” Pawar said, adding the cost of agricultural inputs have gone up and an expert committee was looking into the issue.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader M. Venkaiah Naidu expressed concern over farmer suicides in the country. He sought a two-hour discussion over the problems faced by farmers.
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury said the cost of foodgrain procurement by the central government should be at least 30 percent over the cost of production.
Pawar said the CACP takes into account the “overall situation” while making a recommendation.
The minister said the country had recorded its highest foodgrain production of 257 million tonne last year and the production was expected to be about 250 million tonne this year.
The minister said the country was also exporting rice, wheat, cotton and sugar.
Pawar said farmers were “definitely happy” but the rise in input cost had to be taken into account.