Jalandhar, June 2 -- The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has condemned the minimum support price (MSP) that was announced for 14 crops for the current kharif season by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on May 28. The government has increased the paddy rate to Rs.2,369 per quintal (100 kg) from Rs.2,300 than last year. In a statement, the SKM mentioned, "The MSP is not based on Swaminathan Commission's recommendation of C2+50% formula. Had it been implemented, the paddy MSP should have been Rs.3,135 per quintal. The average production in India for paddy is 25-30 quintals per acre and the loss due to non-implementation of Swaminathan Commission's recommendation for farmers on one-acre production will be in the range of Rs.19,150 to Rs.22,980, which is three times higher than Rs.6,000 being provided under the PM Kisan Nidhi," the SKM leaders stated. The C2 formula of calculating the cost of cultivation includes the cost of capital and the rent on the land to give farmers 50% returns. A senior SKM leader, Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan, said the group and the farmer's organisations across the country were consistently demanding implementation of the C2+50% formula for MSP with guaranteed procurement as promised in the election manifesto of the BJP in 2014. "However, the BJP-led Union government has been betraying the farmers for the 12th year by not increasing the MSP using the C2+50% formula," he said. htc...