Two months after the Finance Minister’s Budget announcement of a minimum support price (MSP) at least 50% above the cost of production, Farmers’ organisation Jai Kisan Andolan has launched a daily news alert, tracking the ground reality regarding MSP. The MSP alert will be published on social media handles of the Jai Kisan Andolan and associated organisations.
“MSP Alert shall be created by analysing data published by the Government itself and credible media/research sources,” said Avik Saha, national convenor of the Jai Kisan Andolan, in a statement on Monday. “It is an alert to the nation and the Government on the ever deepening agrarian crisis of India.”
The statement said that the MSP Alert would welcome inputs from citizens who gathered information about the actual price farmers are getting at agricultural markets. The MSP Alert will be published on social media handles of the Jai Kisan Andolan and associated organisations, it said.
Last month, a group of farmers organisations, under the banner of the MSP Satyagraha Campaign, visited agricultural markets in five states and published a report stating that farmers were not actually able to access MSP rates for their produce. They estimated that the difference between declared MSP and actual prices across the country for six major winter season crops would cause farmers a total estimated loss of ₹14,474 crore.
