Farmers hold protest, seek legal guarantee for MSP

Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, April 13

While observing a nationwide ‘MSP week’ from April 11 to 17, farmers, led by activists of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), today held a protest at the Mini-Secretariat and submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister through the district authorities, demanding legal guarantee for the minimum support price (MSP).

In the memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister, the state president of the Kirti Kisan Union, a constituent of the SKM, Hardev Singh Sandhu demanded that not only the Centre should guarantee procurement price of all crops on the basis of recommendations made by Dr Swaminathan Committee but also put up a legislative protection in place to ensure purchase of all crops at the MSP. Further, the government should also initiate action to bring more farm produce such as vegetables, fruits, milk, poultry and fish under the ambit of the MSP.

Farmers’ unions called upon the government to announce a bonus of at least Rs 300 per quintal for the wheat crop being procured by government agencies as the farmers had suffered loss of yield due to adverse weather conditions and price of wheat had also gone up in market due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

The SKM urged the state government and the Centre to make sure that at the time of purchase of the wheat crop by private traders in mandis, auction should commence from the MSP and the private traders should be cautioned against any exploitation of farmers.

Sandhu said the farmers’ bodies constituting the SKM would continue to hold protests and send memoranda to the Centre during the MSP week till April 17.

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