According to paragraph 35, page 134, of the Secretariat Report: "The Government maintains minimum support prices (MSPs) for major agricultural commodities. MSP levels and the products subject to MSPs are reviewed annually. MSPs are announced prior to each planting season. In 2009/10, India maintained MSPs on 25 crops. MSPs are fixed by the Government following the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), which takes into takes into account several factors to fix them. MSPs aim at covering the actual expenses incurred by the farmer in cash and kind, including rent paid for leased land and imputed value of wages of family labour, rent for owned land and interest on fixed capital. Despite differences in cost of production across states, MSPs are uniform throughout the country."
20. Would India please explain what benefits are provided to farmers when Government appointed bodies intervene in the purchase of production, in the case of prices falling below the minimum support price? What have been the amounts granted by the Government under this mechanism?
Reply: Farmers get minimum assured prices under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) in case the market prices fall below this level for their entire produce.
