Sandwiched between the interests of consumers affected by rising food prices and farmers reeling under the drought this year, the government is likely to hike the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat only marginally, by about Rs 20 a quintal. The current MSP is Rs 1,080 a quintal.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), which is slated to meet on Thursday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is likely to consider a proposal to hike the MSP.

Though the hike in wheat MSP is coming just in time for the sowing of wheat crop, the meager hike proposed to the CCEA raises doubts over the government’s plans to recover the losses caused to the kharif crop due to drought in the coming rabi season.

As compared to the hike of Rs 80 a quintal last year, which resulted into record wheat production, the hike proposed this year appears meager for the farmers to recover the kharif losses.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told reporters that the country was aiming to raise wheat output by additional two million tonnes from last year to recover the losses in kharif output. He also said the apprehensions of agriculture growth registering a negative growth will not come true as he hoped that the late rains would help rabi crop to recover the losses in agricultural output in the kharif crop. Pawar said his ministry expects additional production of 8.5 million tonnes of foodgrain and 1.5 million tonnes of oilseeds in the rabi season this year to compensate for the loss of farm output in the summer season.

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