Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday described the increase in the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat by `75 per quintal as a welcome step but, at the same time he pointed that this needed to be further enhanced commensurate with the steep increase in the cost of agriculture inputs.
Badal said that although this increase in the MSP is a “much needed relief” to the farmers, but it was inadequate and insufficient to absorb the huge burden imposed on the farmers by the vagaries of natural and market forces.
Chief Minister, therefore, demanded either the MSP of farm products be linked to overall price index or Swaminathan formula of 50 per cent profit over and above the cost of production be adopted.