Why high MSPs are likely to have a low impact on farmers' pockets

The minimum support price for the rabi season will not radically alter the falling trajectory of farm incomes

A day after feisty farmer protests in the National Capital Region (NCR) and just before the Assembly poll schedules for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram were announced this week, the central government declared the minimum support price (MSP) for the 2018-19 rabi crop season, marketing for which begins from April 1, 2019.

As with the kharif MSPs, the ones for rabi followed the pre-determined formula of 50 per cent above the A2+FL cost (which basically covers all paid-out expenses in cash or kind, plus an imputed cost of family labour).  

On this basis, the MSP for wheat of Rs