-Firstpost.com The recent increases in minimum support prices have attracted two criticisms from two opposite sides. One is that this is less than what farmers deserve, the second is that this is populist and ignores larger macro side effects. The increase in fair remunerative price for sugarcane has also been criticised for not adequately addressing the woes of the sugar sector. Ramesh Chand, member, agriculture, NITI Aayog talks to Firstpost on...

-TheWire.in Accusing the government of having deceived farmers by not fulfilling its MSP promise, and yet claiming that it has, the AIKSCC has announced a series of agitations over the next four months. New Delhi: The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), a coalition of over 180 farmer organisations across the country, has termed the announced hike in minimum support prices (MSP) a ‘historic betrayal’, and not a ‘historic increase’ as...

-The Hindu Report says it’s consumers who benefit from them more than farmers Despite the general perception that Indian farmers are beneficiaries of major subsidies, a new report says the overall effect of policy interventions between 2014 and 2016 is, in fact, a 6% annual reduction of gross farm revenues. Consumers, on the other hand, pay an average 25% less for commodities as a result of policy interventions. According to researchers at the...

-Business Standard The government's price-fixation panel backs legalising farmers' right to sell at MSP New Delhi: As the government goes on an overdrive to publicise the hike in Minimum Support Price (MSP), the question is how to ensure that farmers reap the benefits. Unless there is a regular procurement mechanism, MSPs will continue to have a notional value except, perhaps, for rice. The Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP), the body which...

-The Tribune Agrarian society vs a non-agrarian economy poses a huge political challenge. JUST how many farmers are there in India? This is not merely a statistical question. This is a question of policy and political significance. We have all grown up reading about India as an agrarian economy, with a majority of its population engaged in farming. Does that continue to be the case? Or has the number of farmers declined...