India, Feb. 19 -- After three years of hibernation, farmers mostly from Punjab are back on the roads with over a dozen demands from the Union Government. If taken on board, these are sure to spell disaster. The foremost demand is securing legal guarantees for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of their agricultural produce.

MSP is a "minimum price" for any crop that the government considers as remunerative for farmers and hence deserving of "support". Put into practice in the 1960s under an 'executive order', it was meant to assure farmers that they get at least MSP from selling their produce; that distress sale is avoided. It fixes MSP for 23 crops grown in Kharif and Rabi seasons based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricult...