Farmer leaders have raised the US trade deal issue at the stakeholders’ consultation meeting on kharif minimum support price (MSP), convened by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), saying it is directly related to the benchmark price (MSP) as unregulated zero duty import of American farm produce will crash domestic prices.
Though the CACP Chairman Vijay Paul Sharma has informed farmer leaders that the trade deal is not directly related to the commission, he was briefed on how this could potentially bring down Indian prices, said Rampal Jat, President of Kisan Mahapanchayat.
Speaking to businessline, Jat said declaring an MSP is meaningful only if its achievement is assured, and this is possible only if a law guaranteeing procurement is enacted to achieve MSP. He requested Sharma to share what were the non-price recommendations of the CACP in the past and the reasons why those suggestions were not accepted by the government.
Jat said: “The CACP had, in the past, recommended legal MSP, but many such recommendations never get accepted. There are several non-price suggestions repeated by the commission year after year, which show it is a routine job without any seriousness.”
No action yet
He pointed out that it the committee on MSP, constituted by the Prime Minister, which has completed three years, is yet to take any meaningful action. “The government is eager to make India’s market available to the US under trade agreement, but is not taking action to ensure remunerative prices for the country’s farmers,” said Jat, alleging that farmers’ interests are no longer at the centre of export policy today.
He also said that the CACP has repeatedly made recommendations regarding legislation guaranteeing procurement and aligning import-export policies with the interests of the farmers.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (non-political) leader Dharmendra Malik, who also participated in the meeting, said that effective procurement should be guaranteed for crops for which MSPs are declared.
“Market intervention schemes should be strengthened for crops for which MSP is not declared. Realistic pricing should be determined, taking into account regional cost differences. The import-export policy should be balanced in accordance with the MSP policy, so that farmers are not harmed,” said Malik.
At present, A2, A2+FL and C2 cost of production are used as bases to determine the MSPs, whereas there is widespread demand from farmers for structural reforms to this formula, he said. He suggested the MSPs for crops be fixed at double the C2 cost of production and with a legal protection.
“Studies conducted over the past year have found that farmers have not received the declared MSP for their crops in both rabi and kharif seasons. The key point is that we are dependent on imports for edible oil and pulses, while domestic production is falling, and farmers are not even receiving the MSPs. Last year during kharif, farmers received between 5 per cent to 35 per cent lower than MSPs for various crops in the mandis,” he said. In Uttar Pradesh, he alleged, paddy was being sold at ₹1,600 per quintal, much below the MSP of ₹2,389/quintal.
Published on February 25, 2026