Farmers reject Govt's new MSP plan, to resume march to Delhi on Feb 21

Farmers on Monday rejected the central government's new plan for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops, saying it was not in their interest. After rejecting the government's proposal, the protesting farmers said they will resume their 'Delhi Chalo' march on the morning of February 21.

Farmer leaders said the proposal did not have clarity and they want MSP on all 23 crops and not just pulses, maize, and cotton crops.

The central government and the farmers held a fourth round of talks on Sunday where the Centre put forth a five-year plan involving the purchase of pulses, maize, and cotton crops by government agencies at minimum support prices



(MSP).

After the talks, farmer leaders had announced that the march to Delhi will be on hold for two days as they study the proposal.

On Monday, Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said the central government imports palm oil at the cost of Rs 1.75 lakh crore. If this amount is earmarked for oilseeds cultivated by the farmers, it would benefit them, he added.

He said the government's proposal will only benefit farmers who rotate from rice grains to pulses between the crop cycles.

The farmer leader added that there are no meetings with the government planned at the moment but they are always ready for talks.