Farmers plan Delhi march on Feb 13 to press for minimum support price

Thousands of farmers will descend on the national capital on February 13 to press for several demands that include the guaranteed Minimum Support Price (MSP) based on the C2+50 per cent formula and an increase in the import duties on agricultural products.

C2+50 per cent is a formula to determine the MSP, which is fixed at 50 per cent over the Comprehensive Cost of Production favoured by Dr Swaminathan.

At present, the Centre has set an MSP, which is 50 per cent more than the A2+FL cost of production. A2+FL cost of production constitutes the imputed cost incurred in growing a crop plus the expenditure on family labour.

The call for the Delhi march was announced after the Samyukta Kisan Morcha and 18 farmer unions organised a ‘mahapanchayat’ in Punjab’s Barnala district on Saturday.

Samyukta Kisan Morcha, which is an offshoot of the SKM, had spearheaded the farmers' protest against the controversial three farm acts that were passed by the Centre in September 2020. They were eventually withdrawn by the Union government.

The farmers have also chalked out a month-long agitation plan that included meeting with intellectuals and academicians in Chandigarh on January 20, a press meet in Delhi on January 21 and candle light march on January 26 in every block and district of the country in the memory of the farmers who have laid down their lives in different agitations.

The farmers’ groups have also demanded that the Central government fulfil the pending assurances it had given them at the time of repealing the three farm acts.

The agitation, which comes weeks before the country enters into the 2024 General Elections mode, could have major political ramifications.

It also comes at a time when India’s agriculture Gross Value Added in FY24 according to the initial advance estimate is expected to drop to a seven-year low of just 1.8 per cent largely on account of uneven kharif and rabi crop prospects.

The crop prospects have also suffered due to the poor monsoon last year, which has prompted the central government to clamp down on the free trade of almost all agricultural commodities and open imports to control inflation ahead of the elections.