The joint committee of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) (non-political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee of Punjab, leading the current farmer stir, have rejected the Centre's proposal for a five-year guaranteed procurement of five crops (cotton, maize, tur, urad, and masur) at Minimum Support Prices (MSPs). This decision continues their march to Delhi, which was initially called by these groups who were part of the November 2020-November 2021 agitation against three farm laws.
The Centre has already initiated the scheme for procurement of tur and maize crops and plans to extend it to urad, masur, and cotton. The proposal aims to buy these crops directly from farmers at MSP for five years without any quantitative limits. However, the government has not committed to enacting a law that would mandate private traders to buy at these rates.
The farmer leaders claim that the government's expenses for procuring all pulses would range from ₹1.25 lakh crore to ₹1.5 lakh crore, while agriculture economists estimate a cost between ₹1.5 lakh crore and ₹1.75 lakh crore for implementing legal MSP guarantee. The farmers' primary demand is for a law guaranteeing the purchase of 23 crops at MSP as per the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendation, which suggests fixing MSPs at 50 percent above the comprehensive costs of production. Their demands also include an unconditional pension for farmers over 60 and complete debt relief for farmers. The march from the Punjab-Haryana border to Delhi is set to resume, with farmers urged to join by February 21. The SKM has criticized the government's current proposal, stating it dilutes core demands and attempts to divide farmer unions.
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