HYDERABAD, JUNE 25 :  Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders expressed disappointment with the Modi government’s new Kharif Minimum Support Prices (MSP) and urged state governments to advocate for an MSP Guarantee and support for debt relief.

Speaking at the Basheerbagh Press Club on Tuesday, Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao, a senior national leader of SKM, former MP, and Agriculture Minister, said, “Farmers are disappointed by the Modi government’s Kharif MSP announcement. For most crops, the increase is only 5-7 per cent and only 1.4 per cent for moong.

This barely keeps up with the inflation rate, whereas the rise in cultivation costs is higher. The government is continuing its policy of nominal increases from the past few years, instead of implementing the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendation of C2+50 percent. How can farmers’ lives improve under this government?”

Rao added, “The Modi government is once again ignoring farmers’ demands for the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations and a legal guarantee of MSP. What is the use of nominally increasing the MSPs when most farmers are not receiving even the announced MSPs? We urge all state governments, including Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, to write to the Centre demanding an MSP Guarantee Act and support from the Centre to ensure that every farmer receives MSP. The Centre also has a responsibility to support debt relief for farmers to address their distress.”
While welcoming the Telangana government’s announcement about implementing farmers’ debt relief in one instalment by August 15, the farmer organizations noted they are still awaiting the release of exact guidelines and the Government Order for the loan waiver. They also mentioned that the fiscal burden of debt relief is very high for any state government, and therefore, it is the responsibility of the Centre to provide support for debt relief for farmers across the country.

The SKM leaders announced that Samyukta Kisan Morcha is holding a national meeting in Delhi on July 10 to decide on further actions. Some farmer unions are already organizing protests at the district level in Telangana against the Modi government’s MSP announcement. At the July 10 meeting, the farmer organizations will decide on how to put pressure on the Central government, which continues to ignore the nationwide demands of farmers.(UNI)