When Swaminathan’s MSP formula was rejected by UPA

The Congress had not adopted the MS Swaminathan method for calculating MSP under the UPA administration, but on Tuesday it pledged a legislative guarantee to minimum support price if elected to power in the next general election.

According to parliamentary records, the then-minister of state for agriculture and food, KV Thomas, stated in an April 2010 response to a Rajya Sabha question that the government “has not accepted” the MS Swaminathan Commission’s recommendation that the MSP should be at least 50% higher than the weighted average cost of production.

Thomas explained why the National Commission on Farmers, chaired by MS Swaminathan, recommended that the MSP be at least 50% higher than the weighted average cost of production. This recommendation was rejected by the commission in its report during the UPA-II administration. The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices recommends the MSP based on objective standards and takes into account a number of pertinent elements; however, the government has not adopted this advice. Consequently, mandating a minimum 50% cost rise might cause market distortion. In certain circumstances, a market correlation between the MSP and the cost of production could be detrimental.

The response was given in response to a query from BJP MP Prakash Javadekar on whether the government has embraced the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations for determining the fair rates that farmers should be paid.

The MSP formula suggested by MS Swaminathan was put into effect after the 2014 election of the BJP administration.

On Wednesday, BJP leaders questioned why, while in office, the Congress did not carry out the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission. During the tenure of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the National Commission on Farmers produced five reports between December 2004 and October 2006.