Why MP govt's price scheme not a saviour for horticulture farmers

The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet on Tuesday approved a scheme under which farmers will be compensated if the market price of a crop falls below its minimum support price (MSP). Though it’s a praiseworthy attempt, the Mukhyamantri Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana (CM's Price Deficit Financing Scheme) doesn’t cover millions of horticulture farmers — many of whom held protests for months to get remunerative prices.

For them, the state government is planning to set up a horticulture price commission to address price fall-related issues and, maybe, fix a minimum price.

Implementing a price deficit payment plan for horticulture crops, nonetheless, is difficult because there is