Union Ministers Propose Five-Year MSP Agreement with Farmers Amid Protests

Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that a group of three Union ministers has suggested that government agencies purchase crops of pulses, maize, and cotton at minimum support prices for a period of five years after a deal with farmers.

Following their meeting with the ministers here on Sunday, farmer leaders said that they will take the next step after discussing the government's proposal in their forums on Monday and Tuesday.


At the Punjab-Haryana border, thousands of protesting farmers were camped out. Goyal, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Arjun Munda, and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai met with the farmer leaders to discuss their demands, which included a legal guarantee for the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

Bhagwant Mann, the chief minister of Punjab, was also present during the meeting.

Speaking with the media after the over four-hour meeting that started at 8:15 p.m., Goyal said that the farmer leaders will make a decision on the government's proposal by Monday morning and that the "innovative" and "out-of-the-box" concept came up during the deliberations.

"Cooperative societies like the NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers Federation) and NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) will enter into a contract with those farmers who grow 'tur dal', 'urad dal', 'masoor dal’ or maize for buying their crop at MSP for next five years," Goyal stated.

"There will be no limit on the quantity (purchased) and a portal will be developed for this," he said.

According to Goyal, it would preserve Punjab's agricultural industry, raise the groundwater level, and prevent the already stressed area from becoming barren.

He said that the farmers expressed their desire to diversify into maize crops, but they also wanted to protect themselves from losses in the event that prices fell below the MSP.

Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal indicated that talks had taken place over the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission, a law on MSP, and debt waivers.

"We will discuss in our forums on February 19–20 and take the opinion of experts regarding it and accordingly take a decision," said farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher in response to the Center's request. The 'Delhi Chalo' march is now on pause but will continue at 11 am on February 21 if all the concerns are not handled, Pandher added. A conversation on loan waivers and other requests is ongoing, and it is hoped that they would be settled by Tuesday.

Speaking about the actions the Narendra Modi administration took in the agricultural sector, Goyal said that between 2004 and 2014, only Rs 5.50 lakh crore of crops were purchased at the guaranteed price; however, between 2014 and 2024, the government purchased crops valued at Rs 18 lakh billion at MSP.

Goyal asked the farmers to end their protest and discussed the prospect of holding another meeting with them. If they make a decision on Monday, he added, the government would go on with holding talks along the same lines.

He did, however, emphasize that the other requests of the farmers were "deep and policy-driven," and that a comprehensive debate was necessary before a settlement could be reached.

"Elections are coming and a new government will be formed... discussions on such issues will continue," he said.

To protect the interests of farmers, the chief minister of Punjab lobbied for the legalization of MSP for crops.

Mann said that at the meeting, he brought up the subject of the import of pulses from Columbia and Mozambique.

Mann said that the value of this import exceeds USD 2 billion and that Punjab may become the nation's leader in pulse production, ushering in a second green revolution, provided MSP is granted for this crop.

The chief minister emphasized that the guaranteed marketing of these crops may incentivize farmers to diversify their crop yields and said that farmers in the state can only embrace cotton and maize if they get an MSP guarantee for these commodities.

He said that the stakeholders must make the ultimate choice and that he attended the meeting in support of the farmers. Mann said that throughout the demonstration, every effort must be made to preserve law and order as well as peace.

The Punjabi farmers started their march to Delhi on Tuesday, but when they pressured the Centre to grant their requests, security guards halted them at the borders of Punjab and Haryana at Shambhu and Khanauri.

In addition, the farmers want the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations to be implemented, pensions for farmers and farm laborers, an end to farm debt, no increase in electricity rates, the dismissal of police cases and "justice" for the victims of the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri in 2021, the reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and financial support for the families of farmers who lost their lives in an earlier agitation in 2020–21.

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