Centre accused of formulating policies that have ‘crushed’ domestic prices; SKM also urged the Opposition to raise the issue in and outside Parliament
NEW DELHI — Blaming the “pro-corporate policies’ of the Central government, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), a broad platform of farmers organisations, on Thursday sounded an alarm over what it called “unprecedented distress sale” of major crops. It accused the Narendra Modi government of failing to ensure even the declared MSP and enabling policies that have “crushed” domestic prices. It also urged the Opposition to raise the issue in and outside Parliament.
Onion growers, especially small and medium farmers in Madhya Pradesh, have been the worst hit, SKM said. Prices in several APMC mandis on December 2 plunged to ₹50–₹116 per quintal, with farmers in some places selling their produce at ₹50 a quintal. Even in Indore, prices ranged between ₹128–₹688 per quintal, while in Mandsaur they sank to ₹170–₹199 per quintal. In contrast, consumers in Delhi continue to pay ₹50–₹60 per kg.
Average prices elsewhere remained abysmally low: ₹419 in markets across Andhra Pradesh, ₹465 in Pipli (Haryana), ₹500 in Delhi’s Azadpur Mandi, and ₹605 in Gujarat. Karnataka saw average prices at ₹1,338 per quintal, but some markets recorded lows of ₹200. Even in Lasalgaon, India’s largest onion market, the average prices hovered around ₹1,850, with lows of ₹300, leading to reports of farmers discarding their produce.
MSP Violations
SKM alleged widespread violation of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy, fixed at ₹2,369 per quintal for 2025–26. In Uttar Pradesh, farmers are reportedly compelled to sell at ₹1,800, and in Bihar the price has sunk to ₹1,400. Even in Haryana, where APMC mandis function comparatively better, farmers receive ₹200 below MSP.
Cotton growers are facing similar distress. Against the MSP of ₹7,710 per quintal for medium-staple cotton, market prices are: ₹4,059 at Adoni (Andhra Pradesh), ₹5,000–₹6,000 in Andhra–Telangana border districts, ₹6,600 average in MP, ₹5,400–₹6,950 in Barwani (MP), ₹4,800–₹7,200 in Rajasthan, ₹6,769 in Tamil Nadu, ₹6,051–₹6,570 in Bodeli (Gujarat) and ₹5,400 in Amreli
SKM blamed the government’s decision to scrap the 11% import tariff on cotton, alleging it was done under “US pressure,” resulting in a flood of imports that crashed domestic prices. “At the C2+50% formula, cotton should fetch ₹10,121 per quintal, yet farmers are being looted by monopoly traders,” the statement said.
States Ensuring Higher MSP
Citing “authentic reports,” SKM highlighted that Kerala, Odisha and Chhattisgarh have successfully ensured MSP at C2+50%:
Kerala: 5.8 lakh MT procured at ₹2,820 per quintal from 2 lakh farmers (85% procurement). MSP raised to ₹3,000 from 2025–26.
Chhattisgarh: 149.25 lakh MT at ₹3,100 per quintal (74.9% procurement).
Odisha: 92.63 lakh MT at ₹3,169 per quintal (nearly 100% procurement).
SKM demanded an independent system to verify whether farmers in these states actually receive the full benefits of the C2+50% MSP.
Other states, it said, continue to lag. Telangana procured 139 LMT at ₹2,889 per quintal, covering only half of the production. Tamil Nadu procured 47.99 LMT (44%) at ₹2,545 per quintal.
The farmers’ body questioned why most of the states fail to pay C2+50% rates when Kerala, Odisha and Chhattisgarh can. It reiterated its long-standing demand for a legal guarantee of MSP at C2+50% for all crops, with assured procurement and fair sharing of value-addition benefits with farmers and agricultural workers.
Call for Nationwide Mobilisation
SKM urged all political parties—especially the opposition—to take up the issue in and outside Parliament, blaming “biased, pro-corporate policies” of the Centre for widespread indebtedness, distress sales and agrarian crisis.
The organisation also called upon farmers across the country to launch local mass struggles, intensify village-level campaigns against distress sale, and expose what it described as the Centre’s “brutal loot of farmers’ wealth.
