Farm unions reject government's rabi MSP raise as inadequate

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has rejected the government's latest minimum support price announcement for rabi crops, calling the proposed wheat MSP increase insufficient and questioning official claims about farmer profitability.

The government raised the minimum support price of wheat by ₹25 per quintal, which equates to 25 paise per kilogram. The farm union contended this marginal increase is inadequate for covering essential production costs, particularly fuel expenses. "The increase will not even buy a third of a litre of diesel," the SKM said in a statement, highlighting the disconnect between the price hike and ground-level farming realities.

The union also criticized the government's characterization of the increase as a "106% profit" margin, describing the claim as misleading. Farm organizations have long argued that official MSP calculations fail to account for inflation in input costs, including fuel, seeds, fertilizers, and labor, which have risen substantially over recent years.

The SKM's rejection underscores ongoing tensions between agricultural unions and the government over price support mechanisms. The farm groups maintain that meaningful MSP revisions should reflect actual production costs and provide genuine income security for cultivators across India's farming regions.