**Executive Summary**
This document is the answer provided by the Minister of State for Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution (Shrimati Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya) to an unstarred question raised in the Lok Sabha (number 1711, by Shri Dharambir Singh) regarding the review of procurement and compensation mechanisms. It details the government's efforts to support farmers, ensure food security, and address issues like crop loss and water stress, with reference to events and actions up to 15 September 2025. The response was due on December 10th, 2025.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Fair & Remunerative Price (FRP)**
* Government sets MSPs for 22 mandated agricultural crops and FRP for sugarcane.
* The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) recommends prices after considering views of State Governments and Central Ministries/Departments.
* Factors considered include cost of production, demand-supply, prices, and rational land/water use, with a minimum 50% margin over cost.
* **Procurement and Food Security**
* Government policy aims to ensure minimum support prices for farmers and affordable food grains for weaker sections.
* Food security is protected through adequate rice and wheat stocks.
* Timely payments to farmers are prioritised, ideally within 48 hours.
* DAFW implements schemes like Price Support Scheme (PSS), Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS) and Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) under PM-AASHA.
* **Haryana's Initiatives**
* During KMS 2025-26, the differential amount is paid to the farmers under Bhawantar Bharpai Yojna for bajra procurement.
* e-Kshatipurti portal launched for transparent crop loss assessment and compensation.
* Affected farmers can register claims against Khasra number on Meri Fasal Mera Byora portal.
* Claims are verified and cross-checked before compensation.
* The e-Kshatipurti portal was opened until 15.09.2025 for uploading the claims.
* Haryana has met its target of 36 MT for procurement of paddy during KMS 2025-26.
* **Procurement Policy and Storage**
* Transparent and uniform foodgrain procurement policy across the country by Government Agencies.
* Farmers can sell in the open market if prices are better than MSP.
* DFPD augments storage capacity through schemes like PEG, CSS, hiring godowns, and public-private partnerships.
* **Financial Support**
* Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) provides concessional interest rates on short-term agriculture loans via Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) at a 7% interest rate.
* Prompt repayers receive a 3% incentive, effectively reducing the interest rate to 4%.
* **Water Management and Crop Diversification**
* Water conservation and harvesting measures are taken under MGNREGA, including dykes, dams, and rainwater harvesting.
* Crop Diversification Programme (CDP) is implemented in Haryana, Punjab & Western Uttar Pradesh.
* Encourages shifting from water-intensive crops to alternative crops.
* 'Per Drop More Crop (PDMC)' scheme promotes micro-irrigation systems.
* Financial assistance provided for drip and sprinkler systems, limited to 5 hectares per beneficiary.
**Impact Analysis**
**Farmers:**
*Impact:* Directly benefits from MSP, FRP, compensation for crop loss, access to credit, and support for water conservation and diversification.
*Action Required:* Register claims on the Meri Fasal Mera Byora portal, apply for KCC loans and utilize irrigation schemes.
**State Governments:**
*Impact:* Responsible for implementing and monitoring the various schemes and initiatives, including procurement, compensation, and water management.
*Action Required:* Facilitate farmer access to schemes, ensure timely payments, manage procurement infrastructure, and promote water conservation efforts.
**Government Agencies (FCI, CACP, DFPD):**
*Impact:* Responsible for policy formulation, procurement, storage, and distribution of food grains.
*Action Required:* Implement MSP policy, assess storage capacity, and ensure efficient distribution of food grains.
**Consumers (particularly weaker sections):**
*Impact:* Access to affordable food grains through the public distribution system is ensured.
*Action Required:* Access the provided support schemes.
Key Entities Referenced
Minimum Support Price (MSP): A price fixed by the Government to protect farmers against sharp price declines.
Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA): An integrated scheme including Price Support Scheme, Price Deficiency Payment Scheme and Market Intervention Scheme.
Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP): Recommends Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for agricultural crops.
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution: The primary ministry responsible for procurement and compensation mechanisms.
Haryana: A state specifically mentioned regarding procurement, compensation, and schemes like Bhawantar Bharpai Yojna and e-Kshatipurti portal.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1711
TO BE ANSWERED ON 10TH DECEMBER, 2025
REVIEW OF PROCUREMENT AND COMPENSATION MECHANISMS
1711. SHRI DHARAMBIR SINGH:
Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC
DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government has reviewed current procurement and compensation
mechanisms to protect the nation’s food security while ensuring remunerative prices to
farmers, if so, the details thereof;
(b) the details of targeted measures is likely to be taken to protect farmers of Bhiwani–
Mahendragarh who faced both flood losses and market price shortfalls including improved
MSP procurement, interim relief and water-management support;
(c) the details of central assistance for States to strengthen procurement infrastructure
and ensure MSP-based purchase during distress;
(d) the details of plans to fast-track crop loss assessment and time-bound compensation
for affected farmers in Bhiwani–Mahendragarh;
(e) the details of measures to relax moisture/quality parameters and allocate additional
storage/transport to prevent distress sales;
(f) the details of support for short-term credit/interest relief and compensation-linked
credit moratorium; and
(g) the details of schemes for community rainwater harvesting, micro-irrigation
subsidies and crop diversification support to reduce repeated flood/water stress risks?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS,
FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
(SHRIM ATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA)
(a): Government fixes Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for 22 mandated agricultural
crops and Fair & Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane, on the basis of
recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP), after
considering the views of State Governments and Central Ministries/Departments concerned.
While recommending MSPs, CACP considers important factors such as 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 and a minimum of 50 percent as the margin over cost of production.
The Government’s policy of procurements of food grains at MSP has broad objectives of
ensuring minimum support prices to the farmers and availability of food grains to the
weaker sections at affordable rates. Food security remains protected, with adequate
operational and buffer stocks of rice and wheat maintained under the central pool.
Further, farmers’ interests are prioritised through fair and transparent procurement systems
at Minimum Support Price (MSP). Provisions have also been incorporated in the MoU with
States to ensure timely payments to farmers, mandating release of payment preferably
within 48 hours of procurement.
Besides, DAFW is also implementing various schemes, namely Price Support Scheme
(PSS), Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS) and Market Intervention Scheme (MIS)
under the integrated scheme ofPradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-
AASHA).
(b): As informed by the Government of Haryana, during procurement of bajra in
KMS 2025-26, the differential amount is paid to the farmers under Bhawantar Bharpai
Yojna, in case of market price shortfall. During KMS 2025-26, 230.05 MT of Bajra has
been procured by State procuring agencies and only 6.47 LMT of Bajra was purchased by
Private traders in the state.
(c): There exists a transparent & uniform policy for procurement of foodgrains by
Government Agencies across the country. Under this policy, stocks conforming to the
Government of India (GoI) specifications which are offered by the farmers at Purchase
centers are procured by the Government Agencies at MSP. However, if the farmers get
prices better than MSP in open market, they are free to sell their produce.
During KMS 2025-26, Haryana has met its target of 36 MT for procurement of
paddy.
(d): Government of Haryana has launched the e-Kshatipurti portal to bring the
transparency in the system of crop loss assessment, verification and compensation to the
affected farmers due to natural calamities such as Flood/Heavy
Rain/Hailstorm/PestAttack/Fire/Cloud Burst/Earthquake etc. The affected farmers can
register claims of their crop damage on this portal against Khasra number already entered
on Meri Fasal Mera Byora portal. Thereafter, verification of these claims will be done by
the field official/officers for actual damage assessment. Before making payment of
compensation, entries of Khasra, claim and assessment done on e-Kshatipurti portal will be
cross checked with entries of sale of crops on e-kharid portal. Thereafter, disbursement ofcompensation shall be made as per Govt. of India Norms as well as State Government.
Norms.
During the monsoon season 2025, considering the impact of heavy rain/water
logging on crop kharif 2025 and recommendations received from all Deputy
Commissioners of the State including Mahendergarh and Bhiwani, Government had opened
the e-Kshatipurti portal till 15.09.2025 for uploading the claims by the affected farmers
towards their crop damage.
(e): in order to safeguard farmers interests and prevent distress sale. Department of Food
& Public Distribution (DFPD) considers requests received from the state governments
seeking relaxations in Uniform Specifications. No request for relaxation in
moisture/quality parameters has been received from the State Government of Haryana for
KMS 2025-26.
Department of Food & Public Distribution (DFPD) is augmenting its storage
capacity by creating capacities through Food Corporation of India (FCI). FCI continuously
assesses and monitors the storage capacity and based on the storage gap assessment, storage
capacities are created/hired, through following schemes:
i. Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee (PEG) Scheme
ii. Central Sector Scheme (CSS) “Storage & Go clowns” (Focus on NE)
iii. Hiring ofgodown from CWC/SWCs/State Agencies
iv. Private Warehousing Scheme (PWS)
v. Creation ofgodown under Asset Monetization
vi. Construction of SILOs under Public Private Partner-ship (PPP) mode
(f): The Government is implementing a 100% centrally funded Central Sector Scheme
known as Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) across the country. This scheme
aims to provide concessional interest rates on short term agriculture loans obtained by
farmers to Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) for their working capital requirements. Under the
scheme, farmers received KCC loans at a subsidized interest rate of 7%. Additionaljy,
farmers who repay their loans promptly receive a 3% Prompt Repayment Incentive,
effectively reducing the interest rate to 4% per annum.
(g): Under the category 'Public works relating to Natural Resource Management’ of
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), measures are
being taken for Water Conservation and water harvesting structures to augment and
improve ground water like underground dykes, earthen dams, stop dams, check dams and
roof top rain water harvesting structures in Government or Panchayat buildings, with
special focus on recharging ground water including drinking water sources. Micro and
minor irrigation works and creation, renovation and maintenance of irrigation canal and
drains are also taken up under the scheme.
The Government is also implementing Crop Diversification Programme (CDP)
under Pradhan Mantri - Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY) scheme in Haryana,
Punjab & Western Uttar Pradesh since 2013-14 to divert the area of water intensive paddy
crop to alternative crops, which require less water such as pulses, oilseeds, coarse cereals,nutri cereals, cotton etc. Under CDP, assistance is given for alternative crop
demonstrations, farm mechanization and value addition, site specific activities and
contingency for awareness and capacity building. Further, CDP has been extended to major
tobacco growing states to encourage tobacco growing farmers to shift to alternate
crops/cropping system w.e.f. 2015-16.
A Centrally Sponsored Scheme, 'Per Drop More Crop (PDMC)’ is under operation
since 2015-16. PDMC focuses on enhancing water use efficiency at farm level through
Micro Irrigation, namely Drip and Sprinkler Irrigation Systems. The PDMC is being
implemented under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY) since
2022-23. Under the scheme, financial assistance @ 55% for small and marginal farmers and
@ 45% for other farmers is provided for installation of Drip and Sprinkler systems under
the PDMC. The assistance for installation of Micro Irrigation systems is limited to 5
hectares per beneficiary.
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