Hike in MSP of paddy not sufficient, claims Ramadoss

It should be procured at ₹3,000 per quintal, says PMK leader

PMK founder S. Ramadoss on Thursday said the recent hike in the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy was not sufficient. He urged the Central and State governments to increase it and incentive price to the extent that paddy could be procured at ₹3,000 a quintal.

In a series of social media posts, Dr. Ramadoss said the MSP for paddy — common and A grade varieties — were increased to ₹2,040 and ₹2,060 a quintal and with the State government’s incentive price, they would be procured at ₹2,115 and ₹2,160 respectively.

Though he acknowledged that the revision of MSP was higher than that of the last year, he contended that it would not be beneficial to farmers in any way. “When the cost of production of paddy is estimated at ₹1,986 a quintal this current year, only if the MSP is determined at ₹2,979 a quintal (by fixing a profit of 50% on top of production cost), it will be beneficial to farmers to some extent,” he argued.