Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, a farmers’ organisation, has urged the government to announce minimum support price (MSP) for castor seed at Rs 70,000 a tonne and minimum export price (MEP) for castor oil at $2,000 a tonne to protect the interest of farmers. There is no MSP for castor seed as on today.
Area under castor seed is shrinking due to non-remunerative farming. Against the cost of production at Rs 70,000 a tonne, farmers’ average realisation works out to Rs 41,000-44,000 a tonne. Consequently, farmers are shifting to better remunerative crops including cotton and sugarcane gradually.
“The government, like in other agri-commodities, should announce an MSP at Rs 70,000 a tonne to protect diminishing farmers’ interest,” said President (Gujarat unit) of BKS Maganbhai Patel.
Total castorseed output this year is expected to fall by 40% to 1.4 million tonnes from the record output level of 2.4 million tonnes in 2011 due to shifting of area to better remunerative crop. This shifting should be restricted, said Patel.
