Expenditure and income gap huge in agriculture sector: All India Kisan Sabha

Comparing actual expenditure on agriculture and the minimum support price (MSP) announced by the Union government for 20 major crops, Left-wing farmers’ body All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) on Thursday (Oct 9, 2025) said farmers suffered a loss of ₹ 3 lakh crore in 2024-25 and an estimated ₹ 24 lakh crore between 2016 and 2025. because of the difference in income and expenditure. However, the Union Agriculture Ministry has refuted this allegation and said the MSP has been finalized after discussions with farmer organizations.

Contrary to the Union government’s argument that farmers growing crops such as paddy, cotton, soybean, maize, groundnut, wheat, gram, arhur (tur), rapeseed, jower, urad, moong, bajra, lentil, ragi, sesame, barley, sunflower, safflower and niger seed were paid 50% more than the costs incurred (C2+50%) under the member states Swaminathan commission formula, AIKS leaders Vijoo Krishnan and P. Krishna Prasad told reporters at a press conference on Thursday.

“Considering the crops including milk, entire commercial crops, vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs, fish etc. which are left out of the current MSP system and procurement, the losses incurred by the Indian peasantry are much higher, leading to indebtedness and suicides of an average of 31 farmers every day; all this is to safeguard corporate profits under the corporate-led NDA regime of the BJP,” the leaders said.

When asked about this stand of the AIKS, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the MSP is decided by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) after consultations with farmers’ organizations. “The Cabinet has approved the recommendations of the CACP,” he said.

The AIKS said farmers growing the top 20 crops have collectively lost an estimated ₹24 lakh crore in income over the last nine years (2016-2025) just because the C2+50% formula was not implemented. “A significant number of farmers are selling their produce below the MSP, especially in regions without an effective procurement system, which means that the actual magnitude of farmers’ losses is much higher than what the figures suggest. Of the 20 crops, paddy, the most widely grown crop, is responsible for the highest losses – around ₹97,000 crore in 2024-25 alone, and cumulatively more than ₹7 lakh crore over the last nine years,” she added.

In Bihar, they said, rice, wheat and maize farmers together have lost about ₹10,000 crore in 2024-25 due to non-implementation of the C2+50% price formula. “Over the nine-year period, their cumulative income loss is estimated at ₹71,000 crore. The actual figure is likely to be much higher given the widespread inefficiencies in procurement and limited MSP coverage as the mandi system was closed in 2006 by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar,” they alleged.