The Union Cabinet has approved an increase of Rs 100 to Rs 2,040 in the minimum support price (MSP) on paddy per quintal for the 2022-23 crop season. The support price of ‘A’ quality paddy has been increased from Rs 1,960 to Rs 2,060 per quintal.

The MSPs for the Kharif marketing season 2022-23 have been increased, said Union Agriculture Minister Anurag Thakur during a Union Cabinet meeting earlier on Wednesday. Paddy is the main Kharif crop, the sowing of which has already begun.

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The Met Department has projected a normal monsoon for the June-September period.

Thakur said the Narendra Modi-led NDA Government has taken many steps to improve the state of agriculture and to increase the income of farmers.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, earlier approved the increase in the MSP for all mandated Kharif Crops for Marketing Season 2022-23, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare said in a statement.

The ministry said the hike was approved “to ensure remunerative prices to the growers for their produce and to encourage crop diversification, as provided in the table below”.

“It is notable that, the return over MSP for bajra, tur, urad sunflower seed, soybean and groundnut is more than 50 percent over the all-India weighted average cost of production at 85%, 60%, 59%, 56%, 53%, and 51% respectively,” the statement read.

“Concerted efforts have been made over the last few years to realign the MSP in favour of oilseeds, pulses, and coarse cereals to encourage farmers to shift larger area under these crops and adopt best technologies and farm practices, to correct the demand-supply imbalance,” it added.

“As per 3rd Advance Estimates for 2021-22, production of Foodgrains in the country is estimated at record 314.51 million tonnes which is higher by 3.77 million tonnes than the production of foodgrain during 2020-21. The production during 2021-22 is higher by 23.80 million tonnes than the previous five years’ (2016-17 to 2020-21) average production of foodgrains,” the ministry said.