Parliament Question: Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 355 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 21ST JULY, 2026 COMMISSION FOR AGRICULTURAL COSTS AND PRICES 355. SHRI K E PRAKASH: Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE be pleased to state: (a) the factors considered by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) while recommending Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for agricultural crops for the 2026–27 marketing season; (b) Whether the Union Government has received any representations from farmers' organisations and other stakeholders regarding the MSPs announced for the 2026– 27 season and, if so, the details thereof; (c) whether the Government proposes to strengthen consultation with farmers and State Governments in the MSP recommendation process; (d) whether any measures have been taken to improve awareness and procurement under the MSP regime; and (e) the steps taken by the Government to support agricultural production during the current cropping season? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण रा(cid:475)मं(cid:361)ी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR) (a) to (c): Every year, Government fixes Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for 22 mandated agricultural crops for the country as a whole, based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP), after considering the views of the State Governments and Central Ministries/Departmentsconcerned. While recommending MSPs, CACP considers important factors like cost of production, overall demand-supply conditions, domestic and international prices, inter-crop price parity, terms of trade between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, the likely effect on the rest of the economy, besides ensuring rational utilization of land, water and other production resources. Before recommending MSP, CACP also consults stakeholders (including Central and State Governments, procurement agencies, industry associations, farmers' representatives, research institutions etc.) and inputs received were also utilized for finalizing the recommendations by the Commission. Time to time, suggestions/representations from many farmers’ organizations and other stakeholders are also received regarding the MSPs announcement. (d): The procurement operation is a continuously evolving process and during the last few years, procurement processes under Minimum Support Price (MSP) have improved to ensure payment of MSP to farmer’s bank account directly and linkage of Aadhaar and Land records with the central and State’s procurement portals ensuring the farmers directly get the benefits of the MSP purchase. Other important initiatives to strengthen procurement process by FCI include deployment of biometric based procurement system, Integration of Digitized Mandi/Procurement centre operation. NAFED has End-to-End Digitization from Procurement to Disposal. Procurement is conducted through the e-Samriddhi portal. Inventory is managed via the Drishti portal. Stock disposal is facilitated through the NAFED portal. Deployment of PoS machines for registration and improved transparency. Opening of model procurement centres has ensured seamless operations, Improved transparency and created a more farmer-friendly procurement system. The Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) is implementing a Central Sector Scheme "Mass Media Support to Agriculture Extension" through DD Regional Kendra, DD Kisan and All India Radio to create awareness and dissemination of scheme benefits including announcement and implementation of MSP among the farming community across the Country.NAFED’s Farmer Outreach Program include pre-season awareness campaigns on MSP and procurement processes, Use of SMS alerts for real-time communication with registered farmers, Increased outreach through local newspapers and WhatsApp farmer groups, Simplification of registration and documentation requirements to encourage participation and Publicity of procurement through loudspeakers in APMC mandis and villages. (e): Government supports agriculture production during the cropping season through various schemes which include National Food Security and Nutrition Mission (NFSNM), National Mission on Edible Oils (NMEO)-Oil Palm, National Mission on Edible Oils (NMEO)-Oilseeds, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)/ Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) Mission for Aatmanirbharata in Pulses and Kisan Credit Card (KCC). *******