Bengaluru, Jan. 15 -- A sharp fall in Bengal gram (chana) prices well below the declared Minimum Support Price (MSP) has triggered widespread distress among lakhs of farmers in Karnataka, prompting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to seek urgent Central intervention for MSP-based procurement under the Price Support Scheme (PSS).
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Chief Minister said Bengal gram growers across the state were being forced into distress sales as market prices in major APMCs were ruling between Rs 800 and Rs 1,200 per quintal far below the MSP, even before peak arrivals of the crop.
Siddaramaiah said that despite the union government announcing ...