Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today asked the Commission on Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP), Government of India (GoI) to immediately recommend a comprehensive insurance scheme to cover the entire loss of the farmers as the existing norms of relief do not fully compensate the loss damaged caused to their crops due to vagaries of weather or natural calamities. The Chief Minister put forth these views before the delegation of CACP led by its Chairman Dr Ashok K Vishandass and urged them to recommend the Minimum Support Price (MSP) realistically in factoring all the crucial elements like cost of farm inputs, labour, fertilisers, pesticides and diesel besides farm equipments. He said that above all the Commission should link these prices with the increase in cost of living so as to ensure reasonable MSP for their produce. Likewise, he also impressed upon the Chairman CACP to recommend for the reimbursement of the difference between the MSP and the actual market price on which their crops were procured especially in the case of alternate crops like Maize, Oilseeds and others. This step would certainly boost the diversification efforts of the state besides incentivising the beleaguered farmers who were being exploited due to unfavourable marketing conditions.
The Chief Minister also requested the Commission not to treat Punjab’s agrarian case at par with other states rather they should give area specific recommendations keeping in view the ground realities. Mr. Badal also asked the Commission to have detailed parleys with the senior officers of the agriculture department and progressive farmers to have deep insight about the prevailing agrarian crisis in the state.Meanwhile, the Chairman CACP assured Mr. Badal that the Commission would look at the problems faced by the farmers and the state agriculture from various angles before making final recommendations to the GoI. He appreciated the concern of Chief Minister for pulling out the state’s peasantry from the agrarian crisis adding he said that the Commission would certainly take into consideration the peculiar nature of agriculture in the state, while recommending ways and means to improve the economic lot of the farmers as mandated by the centre. Prominent amongst other present in the meeting included Agriculture Minister Jathedar Tota Singh, Chairman Punjab State Farmers Commission Dr GS Kalkatt, Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Mr. Suresh Kumar, Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr. Gaggandip Singh Brar, Commissioner Agriculture Dr. BS Sidhu and Director Agriculture Dr. Mangal Singh Sandhu. The Chairman CACP was accompanied by Member Secretary of Commission Mrs. Shailja Sharma and Economic Advisor Dr. Sunita Chibber.