The Crossbill Team
CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and General Secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Vijoo Krishnan, has pointed out that the Narendra Modi-led central government has betrayed the country’s farmers by failing to deliver on its promise of providing Minimum Support Price (MSP) at 1.5 times the cost of production.
In an interview with Rajeev Kunwar, published on the CPI(M)'s official YouTube channel, Krishnan alleged that the government has systematically undermined farmers' interests since 2014, when it first made the MSP promise in line with the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations.
“They promised to implement C2+50% formula as the basis for MSP but never honoured it. What they announce is well below that benchmark,” he said.
The C2 formula includes all input costs, including land rent, which the government allegedly omits by using the less comprehensive A2+FL formula, Krishnan explained.
He criticised the government's failure to act even after the historic farmers' movement of 2020–21, which forced the repeal of the controversial farm laws.
"The government gave a written assurance of a legal guarantee for MSP but has done nothing since. The committee it formed didn’t even include farmer representatives,” he said.
Krishnan called the current MSP system "notional" and symbolic, especially in states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh where government procurement is negligible.
"In Bihar, less than 6% of paddy farmers are covered. Paddy is being sold for Rs 800–Rs 1200 per quintal, far below the MSP," he said, adding that corporate players are reaping profits at the farmers’ expense.
Illustrating the disparity, he pointed out that while the fair price of paddy should be Rs 3,135 per quintal (as per C2+50%), the actual MSP is only Rs 2,359 — a gap of Rs 766.
“This is not support, it's exploitation,” he said.
Using the example of cotton farmers in Telangana, Krishnan said the state government pegged production cost at Rs 11,000 per quintal, but the Centre declared an MSP of only Rs 7,710 — almost Rs 3,000 below cost.
Krishnan also highlighted the dismal procurement data: only 0.23% of pigeon pea (tur dal) production is procured by the government.
“The rest is left to private players like Adani, Tata, Birla, and ITC, who profit immensely while farmers suffer,” he said.
He pointed to a grim reality behind these statistics — an agrarian crisis marked by mass suicides.
“From 2014 to 2023, over 12.2 lakh farmers and farm workers have taken their lives. Add over 3.25 lakh daily-wage workers who have also committed suicide, and this crosses 15 lakh deaths — a humanitarian crisis of historic proportions,” he said.
Calling the situation "unprecedented in human history", Krishnan accused the government of painting a false picture of progress while India's most productive class is being pushed to the brink.
“The reality behind the government’s chest-thumping is a deepening crisis for Indian agriculture and rural labour,” he said.
In an interview with Rajeev Kunwar, published on the CPI(M)'s official YouTube channel, Krishnan alleged that the government has systematically undermined farmers' interests since 2014, when it first made the MSP promise in line with the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations.
“They promised to implement C2+50% formula as the basis for MSP but never honoured it. What they announce is well below that benchmark,” he said.
The C2 formula includes all input costs, including land rent, which the government allegedly omits by using the less comprehensive A2+FL formula, Krishnan explained.
He criticised the government's failure to act even after the historic farmers' movement of 2020–21, which forced the repeal of the controversial farm laws.
"The government gave a written assurance of a legal guarantee for MSP but has done nothing since. The committee it formed didn’t even include farmer representatives,” he said.
Krishnan called the current MSP system "notional" and symbolic, especially in states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh where government procurement is negligible.
"In Bihar, less than 6% of paddy farmers are covered. Paddy is being sold for Rs 800–Rs 1200 per quintal, far below the MSP," he said, adding that corporate players are reaping profits at the farmers’ expense.
Illustrating the disparity, he pointed out that while the fair price of paddy should be Rs 3,135 per quintal (as per C2+50%), the actual MSP is only Rs 2,359 — a gap of Rs 766.
“This is not support, it's exploitation,” he said.
Using the example of cotton farmers in Telangana, Krishnan said the state government pegged production cost at Rs 11,000 per quintal, but the Centre declared an MSP of only Rs 7,710 — almost Rs 3,000 below cost.
Krishnan also highlighted the dismal procurement data: only 0.23% of pigeon pea (tur dal) production is procured by the government.
“The rest is left to private players like Adani, Tata, Birla, and ITC, who profit immensely while farmers suffer,” he said.
He pointed to a grim reality behind these statistics — an agrarian crisis marked by mass suicides.
“From 2014 to 2023, over 12.2 lakh farmers and farm workers have taken their lives. Add over 3.25 lakh daily-wage workers who have also committed suicide, and this crosses 15 lakh deaths — a humanitarian crisis of historic proportions,” he said.
Calling the situation "unprecedented in human history", Krishnan accused the government of painting a false picture of progress while India's most productive class is being pushed to the brink.
“The reality behind the government’s chest-thumping is a deepening crisis for Indian agriculture and rural labour,” he said.
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