Bhubaneswar: Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has advised Odisha to raise paddy productivity which is comparatively much lower in comparison to other States in the country.
The statements of the Union Agriculture Minister is likely to upset the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) which has been demanding that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of paddy should be raised to Rs 2,930 per quintal.
Replying to BJD's Sambalpur MP Nagendra Pradhan, who had on December 21 raised the issue of paddy minimum support price (MSP) hike in Lok Sabha, Singh in a letter has written that, "The cost of production of paddy in Odisha as compared to all India weighted average cost is higher due to lower yields apart from higher cost of bullock and human labour. Therefore, the State should raise paddy productivity."
In the letter Singh also asserted that MSP for major agricultural crops including paddy is fixed on basis of recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) after considering the views of the States and the Ministries concerned.
"While formulating its recommendations on price policy, CACP considers a number of factors: demand and supply, cost of production, price trends in the market, inter-crop price parity and effect on cost of living," the Union Minister pointed out.