Topic: వ్యవసాయ ధరల విధానం (Agricultural Price Policy)
1. Need for Agricultural Price Policy:
* Post-independence, government made efforts for agricultural development (irrigation, seeds, loans, equipment).
* Problem: Despite development efforts, farmers were not getting remunerative prices (గిట్టుబాటు ధర) for their produce.
2. Origin & Institutions:
* To address this, a committee was formed to suggest measures for price determination.
* Committee Name: వ్యవసాయ ధరల నిర్ణయం సంఘం (Agricultural Prices Determination Association) or L.K. Jha Committee (ఎల్ కే ఝా కమిటీ).
* Chairman: L.K. Jha (ఎల్ కే ఝా).
* Based on this committee's recommendations (ఆహార ధాన్యాల ధరల నిర్ణయ సంఘం సూచన మేరకు):
* The Agricultural Price Policy (వ్యవసాయ ధరల విధానం) was announced in 1965.
* The Agricultural Prices Commission (వ్యవసాయ ధరల కమిషన్) was established in 1965.
3. Objectives of the Agricultural Price Policy (1965):
* To prevent agricultural produce prices from fluctuating wildly.
* To protect farmers from difficulties caused by price drops (especially when supply is high).
* To ensure food grains are available at low prices for the poor (via PDS).
* To control inflation (ద్రవ్యల్బణం) in food grains.
* To curb speculative activities (స్పెక్యులేటర్స్) that create artificial scarcity and raise prices.
* To encourage cultivation of nutritious crops (పోషక విలువలతో కూడిన పంటలు) to reduce nutritional deficiency.
* To provide a remunerative price (గిట్టుబాటు ధర) to farmers, covering their production costs and ensuring a reasonable margin.
4. Agricultural Prices Commission / CACP:
* Established in 1965 as Agricultural Prices Commission.
* From 1985, its name was changed to the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) (వ్యవసాయ వ్యయాలు మరియు ధరల కమిషన్).
5. Roles in Price Mechanism:
* Determining/Recommending Prices (నిర్ణయించేది): CACP (వ్యవసాయ వ్యయాలు మరియు ధరల కమిషన్)
* Determines/Recommends MSP, Procurement Price/Levy Price, Issue Price, Administered Price.
* Approving Prices (ఆమోదించేది): Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (కేంద్ర ఆర్థిక వ్యవహారాల క్యాబినెట్)
* Announcing Prices (ప్రకటించేది): Central Government (కేంద్ర ప్రభుత్వం) (or relevant Ministry).
6. Minimum Support Price (MSP):
* Telugu: కనీస మద్దతు ధర.
* English: Minimum Supporting Price (MSP).
* Definition: A guaranteed price announced by the government. If private traders do not buy the farmer's produce at the prevalent market price (or higher), the government's cooperative market will buy it at the announced MSP. It is a safety net price for the farmer.
* Announcement Time: Announced before the sowing season (పంట వేయడం కన్నా ముందే).
* Kharif crops: First week of June.
* Rabi crops: September or October.
* Basis for Determination (by CACP):
* Considers 12 factors/considerations (12 అంశాలు).
* Key factors include: cost of cultivation, input prices, input-output price parity, inter-crop price parity, market prices, international prices, supply/demand, farmer's living cost, industrial product prices, subsidies, previous year's surplus/deficit.
* Since 2018-19, the MSP is generally fixed at 1.5 times the cost of production (ఒకటిన్నర రెట్లు ఉత్పత్తి వ్యయం), ensuring a minimum 50% margin over production cost for the farmer.
* Number of Crops Covered: MSP is announced for 22 mandated crops every year. (14 Kharif, 6 Rabi, 2 Commercial).
* Is MSP Legally Binding?
* For most crops: NO. MSP is an option for the farmer to sell to the government if market prices are lower. Private traders are not legally obligated to buy at MSP or above. Government cannot take action against private traders buying below MSP.
* For Sugarcane (చెరకు పంట): YES. It has a Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) (చట్టబద్ధమైన కనీస మద్దతు ధర). If private traders buy sugarcane below this price, legal action can be taken. (Reason: Sugarcane loses weight quickly after harvest, making farmers vulnerable).
* State Government's Role:
* A State Government can announce a higher MSP than the Centre's MSP. This is called State Government Minimum Support Price (రాష్ట్ర ప్రభుత్వ కనీస మద్దతు ధర).
* For sugarcane, if a State Government announces a price higher than the Centre's Statutory Price, it is called State Advised Price (SAP) (రాష్ట్ర ప్రభుత్వ సలహా ధర). SAP applies only to sugarcane.
7. Other Prices (to be discussed in detail later, briefly mentioned):
* Procurement Price (సేకరణ ధర) / Levy Price (లేవీ ధర): Price at which government agencies buy crops for buffer stock/PDS.
* Issue Price (జారీ ధర): Price at which food grains are sold to consumers through PDS.
* Administered Price (పాలిత ధర): Price set by the government, often used interchangeably with Procurement/Issue prices in some contexts, but generally refers to prices controlled by the government.
8. Challenges / Reality:
* APMC Act: The current system often forces farmers to sell only in designated market yards (APMC).
* Trader Collusion: Licensed traders in market yards sometimes collude to suppress prices, preventing proper auctions and fair price discovery.
* Exploitation: Traders might offer loans to farmers before harvest and force them to sell at lower-than-market/MSP prices, deducting debt, interest, and other costs unfairly.
* Farmers are restricted from selling directly outside APMC markets where they might get better prices elsewhere in the country (as seen with the repealed farm laws). The APMC Act, designed to protect, is often seen as hindering farmer income potential.
9. Crops under MSP (as of 2023-24 season - Note: New MSP for 2024-25 Kharif expected in June 2024, check for updates before exam):
* Total: 22 crops (number repeated in audio, though list might slightly vary based on categorization).
* 14 Kharif Crops:
* Paddy (సాధారణ వరి, గ్రేడ్ ఎ వరి)
* Jowar (జొన్న)
* Bajra (సజ్జలు)
* Maize (మొక్క జొన్న)
* Ragi (రాగులు)
* Arhar (Tur) (కందులు)
* Urad (Black Gram) (మినుములు)
* Groundnut (వేరుశెనగ)
* Soyabean (సోయాబీన్)
* Sunflower Seed (సన్ ఫ్లవర్)
* Sesame (నువ్వులు)
* Nigerseed (listed in standard lists, not explicitly in audio list but part of 14)
* Cotton (పత్తి) - Medium Staple and Long Staple (Separate in some lists, maybe counted together in 14?)
* (The audio lists Paddy ordinary/A, Jowar, Maize, Bajra, Ragi, Arhar, Urad, Groundnut, Soybean, Sunflower, Sesame, Cotton, Mustard - Wait, Mustard is Rabi! Let's assume the standard 14 Kharif list and the speaker listed examples or slightly miscategorized).
* Standard 14 Kharif: Paddy (Common & Grade A), Jowar, Bajra, Maize, Ragi, Arhar, Moong, Urad, Groundnut, Soybean, Sunflower Seed, Sesame, Nigerseed, Cotton (Medium Staple & Long Staple). (Moong was not listed in audio, Mustard was miscategorized).
* 6 Rabi Crops:
* Wheat (గోధుమ)
* Barley (బార్లీ)
* Gram (శనగలు)
* Masur (Lentil) (మసూర్ పప్పు)
* Rapeseed/Mustard (ఆవాలు)
* Safflower (సఫోలా)
* 2 Commercial Crops (Mandated):
* Jute (జనపనార)
* Copra (కొబ్బరి) - Milling Copra & Ball Copra (Often counted as two). (Audio mentioned these three by name). Note: Sugarcane has SMP, not MSP, and is outside this list of 22 crops.
10. Exam Focus Points:
* Know the 22 (or potentially 23 if Jute + 2 Copra types are counted as 3) crops covered under MSP. Be able to identify a crop not on the list.
* Know the current MSP rates for important crops (especially Paddy).
* Know which crop saw the highest absolute price increase in the last announced season (2023-24 vs 2022-23). (Based on audio/recheck: Long Staple Cotton saw the highest increase - ₹2330, then Sesame - ₹805 increase).
* Understand the different roles: CACP (determine), Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (approve), Central Government (announce).
* Understand the concept of MSP, Statutory MSP (sugarcane), State MSP, State Advised Price (sugarcane).
* Know the basis for MSP calculation (12 factors, 1.5 times production cost since 2018-19).
(Note: Specific price figures given in the audio are for the 2023-24 marketing season. For upcoming exams (July/Aug 2024), new MSPs for the 2024-25 Kharif season announced in June 2024 are highly relevant. Check updated notes/sources for the latest data.)
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