The Union government Wednesday announced minimum support prices (MSP) for six rabi crops for the 2025-26 rabi marketing season (RMS), with wheat — the country’s second-largest crop — seeing an increase of `150 per quintal, or 6.59 per cent, over its current MSP. The new MSP per quintal for wheat is `2,425. The new MSPs for barley (`1,980), gram (`5,650), lentil (masur) (`6,700), rapeseed and mustard (`5,990), and safflower (`5,940), too, have increased in the range of 2.41 per cent to 7.03 per cent. Last year, the hike was in the range of 2.65 per cent to 7.08 per cent. In absolute terms, the highest increase in the MSP, as compared to the current year (2024-25), has been approved for rapeseed and mustard — `300 per quintal. The hike was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The announcement comes as states like Maharashtra, and Jharkhand prepare for elections. However, Information & Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who was briefing reporters Wednesday, dismissed any connection between the MSP hikes and the upcoming polls, stating that such announcements typically occur around this time. Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “Giving fair prices to farmers is the top priority of the government and today new MSP rates have been announced accordingly.” The hike in the MSP of wheat is significant as it is the second largest crop (after paddy) in terms of area coverage. In 2023-24, area under wheat stood at 318.33 lakh hectare, while the production is estimated at 113.92 million tonnes. Uttar Pradesh is the top wheat producing state in the country and it is followed by Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, Gujarat and Maharashtra. In the current RMS (2024-25), the government procured 26.6 million tonnes of wheat, benefitting 22 lakh farmers. The wheat procurement figure has come down in recent years after reaching the peak of 43.34 million tonnes in the RMS 2021-22. On October 1, the wheat stock in Central pool stood at 23.78 million tonnes, which is marginally lower as compared to 23.99 million tonnes on the same date last year. The Centre requires about 1.8 million tonnes of wheat to meet its monthly requirement under the National Food Security Act, 2013. The gram MSP is `210 (3.86 per cent) higher. Gram is the country’s biggest pulse crop in terms of area. In 2023-24, the area under gram was recorded at 95.87 lakh hectares and production was recorded at 11.03 million tonnes. Maharashtra, where elections will be held on November 20, is the country’s top gram producer, accounting for about a quarter of the total production, and is followed by Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In Maharashtra, gram is mainly grown in Buldhana, Jalgaon, Washim, Wardha, Latur, Osmanabad, Nanded, Amaravati, Yavatmal, Akola, Ahmednagar, Pune, Dhule, Beed, Solapur, Nasik and Aurangabad. The other gram producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. The new MSP of barley is `130 or 7.03 per cent higher than the current MSP. Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh are the top barley producing states. The MSP of lentil (masur) has been increased by `275 per quintal. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Rajasthan are the main lentil producing states. The increase in the lentil MSP is significant as India is promoting cultivation of pulses to meet domestic demand. India is not self-reliant in pulses and meets its consumption demand through imports. In 2023-24, India imported 1.67 million tonnes of lentil — almost double of the lentil import of 0.85 million tonnes during 2022-23. Most of it came from Australia, Canada, Russia, USA and Turkey. Rapeseed and mustard is the second biggest oilseed crop after soybean in the country. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Assam are the main production states. The safflower MSP is `140 (2.41 per cent) higher. Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh are the top safflower producing states. According to the report of the Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP), 22 lakh wheat farmers, 1.13 lakh lentil farmers, 5 lakh mustard farmers, and 15,409 gram farmers have been benefited by the MSP during the ongoing RMS 2024-25. In the RMS 2022-23 and RMS 2023-24, 11.68 lakh and 10.29 lakh gram farmers benefited from the MSP. The procurement of pulses and oilseeds is done by the NAFED and NCCF under the Price Support Scheme. The dip in the number of gram farmers who availed the MSP in the ongoing RMS season was low because gram prices were higher than the prices prevailing in the market since the beginning of the harvesting season, said a source.
