Discuss the role of Minimum Support Price (MSP) in ensuring farmers’ income and food security in India. How far has the MSP regime been successful in balancing the interests of producers and consumers?

Answer: Model Answer approach

The two primary parts of the question are how MSP guarantees food security and farmer income in India. What changes are essential to ensure that MSP is fair and effective for farmers?

Introduction: MSP can be defined in brief.  

• The Indian government uses the Minimum Support Price (MSP), a type of market intervention, to protect farmers from a sudden decline in farm prices. Based on the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices’ (CACP) recommendations, the government sets the minimum support prices for 23 notified crops at the start of the sowing season.

Body: MSP’s function in guaranteeing Indian farmers’ income. MSP’s contribution to India’s food security. changes required to improve the efficiency and equity of MSP.

MSP’s Function in Guaranteeing Indian Farmers’ Income

• By offering a set income and mitigating the fluctuations of market prices, MSP assists farmers in escaping the low-income trap.
• Farmers are encouraged to cultivate these varied informed crops in order to optimize their income when the MSP is announced before to each cropping. 
• Because MSPs guarantee that farmers receive a specific “minimum” payment so that their cultivation costs (and some profit) may be recovered, it stops farmers from selling their produce at throwaway rates. 
• Aids in making well-informed decisions: Knowing MSP in advance enables the farmer to choose the crop that will yield the greatest financial return.

Conclusion: You can write a brief synopsis.

• Ineffective implementation of MSP and ‘non-procurement’ of all the crops at the MSP are the main concerns of farmers. The Government should provide a fair return to farmers while keeping the interest of consumers in a way that prices of food and other agricultural commodities are kept at a reasonable level.

Practice Question

Question: The Swaminathan Commission recommended MSP at ‘C2+50%’. Discuss the rationale behind this recommendation and analyse the challenges in its implementation in India.

Note: To take practice tests on Daily current Affairs MCQs, click the link that is attached.

UPSC General Studies Paper Preparation