ALAPPUZHA: The state will continue providing an incentive bonus over and above the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy farmers, and the Centre has been officially informed of this decision, Agriculture Minister P Prasad said.
Addressing a press conference in Alappuzha on Tuesday, the minister said the state government has also urged the Union government to urgently revise the MSP for paddy to Rs 40 per kilogram by taking into account the actual cost of production in Kerala.
He alleged that the Centre’s reluctance to consider Kerala’s demand for a higher MSP, coupled with its insistence on discontinuing the state-provided incentive bonus, amounted to a deliberate attempt to undermine paddy farmers in Kerala. Despite severe financial constraints, the state government would continue to extend full support to paddy farmers, including maintaining the incentive bonus, the minister said.
He expressed concern over a recent letter from the Expenditure Secretary in the Union Finance Ministry to the Kerala Chief Secretary, demanding that states discontinue incentive bonuses above MSP, citing the increased burden on the public exchequer due to higher paddy and wheat production.
He claimed that the Centre’s actions appeared to be part of a broader strategy to reduce domestic production of paddy and wheat while increasing imports of oilseeds, pulses and other agricultural commodities.
