The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved an increase in the minimum support price (MSP) of six crops, including wheat, for the rabi season 2027-28. The government said the aim is to help farmers get better and fairer prices for their produce. The crops are wheat, barley, gram, lentil, mustard-rapeseed and safflower. The hike will benefit farmers across the country, including Gujarat.
Safflower, mustard see biggest increase
The government has made the steepest increase in the MSP of safflower, which goes up by ₹675 per quintal. Mustard and rapeseed follow, with a rise of ₹413 per quintal.
Increase for the other crops
- Lentil: ₹390 per quintal
- Barley: ₹136 per quintal
- Gram: ₹83 per quintal
- Wheat: ₹25 per quintal
Centre says hike ensures 1.5 times the cost
The government said the increase follows the principle set out in the Union Budget for 2018-19. Under it, the MSP is to be fixed at a level at least 1.5 times the average cost of production. According to government estimates, after deducting the cost of cultivation, farmers can earn returns of about 106% on wheat, 96% on mustard and rapeseed, 92% on lentil, 59% on gram, 58% on barley and 50% on safflower.
Push for pulses and oilseeds
For the past several years, the government has been encouraging farmers to grow pulses and oilseeds instead of depending only on cereals such as wheat and rice. To support this, MSP for these crops is being kept comparatively higher. The government hopes this will lead farmers to shift towards other crops as well.
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Wheat procurement up sharply in a decade
Government data shows that between 2014-15 and 2025-26, the Centre procured about 3,715 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat. In the ten years from 2004-05 to 2013-14, wheat procurement stood at about 2,254 LMT.
Procurement and payments to farmers rise
Taking wheat and the other five rabi crops together, total government procurement was about 2,302 LMT between 2004-05 and 2013-14. It rose to about 3,921 LMT between 2014-15 and 2025-26.
Payments to wheat farmers under MSP have also increased. Between 2014-15 and 2025-26, wheat farmers were paid about ₹7.31 lakh crore under MSP, compared with about ₹2.56 lakh crore during 2004-05 to 2013-14.
Similarly, total MSP payments to farmers of the six major rabi crops were about ₹2.65 lakh crore during 2004-05 to 2013-14. This rose to ₹8.36 lakh crore during 2014-15 to 2025-26.
Overall, the government said the MSP hike will help farmers get better prices for their crops and also encourage the cultivation of pulses and oilseeds.