A panel of three Union ministers has proposed the buying of pulses, maize and cotton crops by government agencies at minimum support prices for five years after entering into an agreement with farmers, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said (Pics/PTI and AFP)
Updated on : 19 February,2024 12:47 PM IST | Compiled by : ronak mastakar
Farmer leaders after a meeting with the ministers here on Sunday had said they will discuss the government's proposal in their forums on Monday and Tuesday, and thereafter, decide the next course of action
Goyal, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, along with Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai held the fourth round of talks with the farmer leaders over their demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops, as thousands of protesting farmers were camping at the Punjab-Haryana border
Talking to the media after the more than four-hour-long meeting, which commenced at 8.15 pm, Goyal said the "innovative" and "out-of-the-box" idea came up during the discussions and the farmer leaders would decide on the government's proposal by Monday morning
"Cooperative societies like the NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers Federation) and NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) will enter into a contract with those farmers who grow 'tur dal', 'urad dal', 'masoor dal' or maize for buying their crop at MSP for next five years," said Goyal
"There will be no limit on the quantity (purchased) and a portal will be developed for this," he added
It will save Punjab's farming, improve the groundwater table, and save the land from getting barren which is already under stress, Goyal said
The farmers pointed out that they want to diversify into maize crops but want to avoid suffering losses when the prices drop below the MSP, he said
Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said discussions on issues such as a law on MSP, the Swaminathan Commission recommendations and loan waivers were held
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