KOCHI: Mathew Sebastian, a farmer in Karuvarakundu in Malappuram, is a devastated man. He is letting this season’s banana harvest in his 15-acre plot go to waste after the prices plummeted to Rs 12/kg. “To break even, we need to get at least Rs 30 per kg,” he said. On paper, Sebastian is entitled to get Rs 30/kg for the crop under the state government’s minimum support price (MSP) scheme for 16 agriculture commodities including banana, which came into effect from November 1.
However, the woes of Sebastian expose the chinks in the much-touted support price scheme announced by the state government in October. For instance, to avail of the MSP, the farmers have to register with Agriculture Department’s portal (aims.kerala.gov.in) with all supporting documents (title deeds, land tax payment details etc), the crops have to be insured, these should be sold at government-approved agencies/markets and the scheme is limited to crops in not more than 15 acres a season.
“There is a large section of people in Kerala who are farming on leased land of 50 to 70 acres or even more,” said James George, president of Vazhakulam-based Pineapple Farmers’ Association. “The land limit of 15 acres is a deterrent as in Vazhakulam, for instance, three-four farmers pool resources to undertake pineapple cultivation in over 100 acres,” he said.
James said there is also a delay of two-three weeks to receive the payment. “As most farmers avail of loans from private money lenders, any delay in getting the money may force the farmers to offload the commodities at distress prices,” said George.
The market price of pineapple is now ruling in the range of Rs 10-12 as against the state government’s MSP of Rs 15/kg. “Unless the government procurement helps the prices rise, there will be no meaningful impact of MSP because the supply remains the same. The government should convert the procured fruit or vegetables to make value-added products like jams, juice, pickle, etc, thereby ensuring that the supply (of agri-commodity) comes down,” he said.
Sebastian, a settler from central Kerala at Karuvarakundu, said a large number of banana farmers in the state have incurred huge losses this season due to a glut in production. “When we approached the so-called government-registered markets, the officers say they will only procure 5 kg of banana from a 15-kg banana bunch at the MSP of Rs 30/kg. For the remaining quantity, we will have to agree on a price they fix. This is why the new MSP, we feel, is an eyewash,” he said. Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar admitted that there are some technical issues but added that these are teething issues. “Over 68,000 farmers have registered with us till December 31. Further, the government has established 600 markets for procuring vegetables and fruits at MSP,” the minister said.
He said most farmers are not registering with the government portal and hence the difficulty in providing them with MSP. A total of Rs 25 crore has been set aside in the budget for the MSP. The government will bear the losses in procurement through these funds,” he said. Johnson Oliyapuram, a rice farmer in the Thrissilery village of Wayanad, said the state government has a really good MSP scheme for paddy as there are no land restrictions.
“While other states procure paddy at central government-fixed Rs 18-19/kg, the state government procure paddy through the Supplyco at Rs 27.50/kg, adding another Rs 8-9/kg to the MSP,” he said. Further, the farmers are informed in advance about the collection centres and the dates for the procurement of paddy by the Supplyco. “A similar model can be tried for vegetables-fruits too,” he said.
Chinks in scheme
Restriction on land/farmer at 15 acres
Procurement only by govt markets/agencies
Payment delay of 2-3 weeks
MSP does not result in price stability