Amid an ongoing agitation by farmers at Shambhu and Kanauri borders, the Haryana Government has notified the procurement of 24 crops at the Minimum Support Price (MSP). Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - led Government’s decision in Haryana is expected to increase pressure on other states, particularly on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government, where farmers are currently agitating. Farmer organizations have been protesting to demand a legal framework to ensure MSP for all crops.
Talking to reporters, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Chaduni) spokesperson Rakesh Bains said: “Only a law can guarantee that no crop is purchased below MSP. We have seen in the past that government agencies did not procure the entire produce despite announcing MSP for some crops. A legal guarantee will also ensure that private players cannot buy crops below MSP.”
In a notification dated December 19, Haryana Additional Chief Secretary for Agriculture, Raja Sekhar Vundru, stated that the government had formally notified these corps for procurement at MSP as per the Centre’s announcements.
Additional Chief Secretary Vundru further stated that certain crops, such as maize and barley, usually fetch higher market prices than the MSP. “The state procured maize in 2018-19, 2020-21, and 2021-22. However, barley has never been procured as its market price is typically higher than the MSP,” he said. Vundru further noted that crops like arhar, urd, til, and jowar also tend to attract market prices above the MSP. The notification clarified that procurement of all notified crops at MSP will be carried out only for eligible registered farmers on the ‘Meri Fasal Mera’ .
The notification issued by the Haryana government also aligns with the central government’s MSP policy, which applies to all these crops. Notably, sugarcane is procured at a fair and remunerative price (FRP), a mechanism similar to MSP.
Earlier, ahead of the October Haryana Vidhan Sabha elections, the Saini-led cabinet had decided to include ten more crops—ragi, soybean, niger seed, safflower, barley, maize, jowar, jute, copra, and summer moong—under MSP procurement, in addition to the 14 crops already procured at MSP. These previously included paddy, bajra, kharif moong, urd, arhar, til, cotton, groundnut, wheat, mustard, gram, masur, sunflower, and sugarcane. Saini had then said, “In the past ten years, the State Government purchased 14 crops at MSP. Now, all crops in Haryana will be bought at MSP by our government.”
