Minimum Support Price Conundrum and Sustainable Farming: A study of the impact of the socio-economic factors on sustainable agriculture

Abstract

The underlying objective for the discussions highlighted in the paper is to establish an interrelation between Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), Minimum Support Price (MSP) and the socio-economic factors of the farmers as well as to highlight how removing the financial safety net of the farmers would negatively impact their motivations, further dwindling their usage of sustainable means of agriculture. This paper begins by tracing the historical development of farmers in the colonial and post-colonial periods. It moves on to focusing on how the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) was formed in India, why there was a need to introduce Minimum Support Price (MSP) and how the both of them are connected to farmers. It further discusses the lesser-known socio-economic factors like caste, class, gender, economic affairs that have implications on sustainable agricultural practices and the social relationships among farmers. It also talks about how the government made multiple attempts to improve farmers‟ conditions; like introducing contract farming which was tried, tested and failed in many states. Furthermore, the paper attempts to find out the comparative analysis between the farmers and the government perceptions on the new Farm Bills, 2020.