Evaluation of Price Support and Market Intervention Scheme in Rajasthan

摘要

The Agricultural Price Policy is one of the instruments that has helped farmers and brought about a noticeable change in the production and productivity of the agriculture sector. In view of the distorted and unregulated market conditions prevailing for agricultural produces in India, support prices are very imperative for farmers to get assured income from their crop cultivation. The agricultural price policy is aimed at intervening in agricultural produce markets to influence the level of fluctuations in prices and the price-spread from farm gate to the retail level. The Minimum Price Support Policy (MSP) linked to procurement has served the country well in the past three decades. However, in recent years it has started encountering problems mainly because of surpluses of several agricultural commodities and excessive built up of stocks with FCI. Even deficit states like Bihar, Assam, Eastern U.P. have started generating surpluses of certain cereals. Also, as a result of operation of the pricingPolicy, private trade has not been able to play its role particularly in respect of two major cereals, namely wheat and rice that account for over 70 percent of total food grain production in the country. Under the MSP scheme prices of major agricultural commodities are not only exogenously determined but these prices are defended through nodal procurement agencies like FCI.