Rural economy in crisis, proper MSP is the solution: Jairam Ramesh

February 27, 2024

Congress claimed on Tuesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may talk about his ‘guarantee’, but the truth is that today the rural economy is in crisis. Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that the solution to the crisis of the rural economy is that farmers should get adequate and fair minimum support price (MSP) for their produce.

Ramesh posted on X, “The Prime Minister has been talking too much about his guarantees in recent times. In 2017, he had guaranteed doubling the income of farmers by 2022.

He said, ‘Take a look at how the rural economy is actually performing: For the first time in more than 50 years, real consumer expenditure in rural areas declined by 8.8 per cent between 2011-12 and 2017-18. . “Between 2019-20 and 2023-24, the annual growth rate of real rural wages was negative for both agriculture (-0.6 per cent) and non-agriculture (-1.4 per cent).”

The Congress General Secretary claimed, “Tractor sales in India are a major indicator of the economic condition of rural areas. Tractor sales have seen a sharp decline in major states in the west and south in the first 9 months of this financial year. Its total sales have declined by four percent. There is an estimated decline of 4-5 percent in tractor sales year-on-year. According to Ramesh, there has also been a decline in the sales of two-wheelers which is a sign of increasing poverty. He said two-wheeler sales were down 22 percent in 2022-23 compared to 2017-18.

The Congress leader claimed, ‘It is clear from these figures that rural areas of India are facing a real economic crisis, with falling real wages and declining consumer spending. The Prime Minister does not give ‘guarantees’ but ‘jumlas’. Ramesh said, ‘The most important policy initiative to solve the rural crisis is adequate and fair MSP for agricultural produce. This is why the Congress Party has decided to make MSP a legal right for farmers under its farmer justice agenda.

The prices of crops will be determined on the basis of the formula given by the Swaminathan Commission.” He said sarcastically, ‘The Jumla government will give ‘Bharat Ratna’ to Dr. MS Swaminathan, but will not implement his vision. Congress party will fulfill his dream and provide justice to our farmers. Now when their ‘warranty’ is about to expire, they are giving ‘guarantee’. Wonderful.”