India Will Face A Crisis If There Is A Law On MSP: SC Panel Member Anil Ghanwat

Mumbai: India will face a crisis if there is a law on minimum support price (MSP) for crops, said Anil Ghanwat, a member of the Supreme Court-appointed panel on farm laws.

“If there is going to be a law (on MSP), then we (India) will face a crisis. With the law, if someday the (procurement) process goes down, no one can buy the product as it is. Price less than MSP will be illegal, and they (traders) will be put in jail for it,” Ghanwat, who is the president of Shetkari Sangathan, was quoted as saying by ANI.

His comments came amid demands of legislation on MSP by protesting farmers.

Ghanwat said that the law on MSP is not the solution and the central government and farmer leaders should think of some other ways to increase farm income.

“It is going to be a crisis as not only traders but stockists and everyone involved will suffer. The commodity market will also remain chaotic. It will be distorted,” he said.

“We are not against MSP, but open-ended procurement is a problem. We require 41 lakh tonnes of grains for buffer stock but procured 110 lakh tonnes. If MSP law is made, all farmers will demand MSP for their crops, and no one will be in a position to earn anything out of that,” he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday, 19 November, had announced that his government would be repealing the three contentious farm laws.

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