Madhya Pradesh launches new scheme to address price risk

Madhya Pradesh government has launched a new scheme named Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana (Price Deficit Financing Scheme) to address price risks in agriculture. The scheme will initially extend to eight crops, mostly oilseeds and pulses, where the government procurement is typically low.

Under the scheme, the farmers will be compensated when the notified crops are sold below the MSP. But this compensation will be based on the modal prices. The modal prices are the average market price of the crop for a period of two months in Madhya Pradesh and two other states.

To get the benefit of the scheme farmers will have to register their crops at village-level cooperative societies along with their Aadhaar and bank account numbers. Enrolments will open from September 11. 

“We are looking at enrolling nearly half of the 6.5 million farmers in the state who grow these crops,” said Rajesh Rajora, agriculture secretary of Madhya Pradesh. The scheme may be extended to cover horticulture crops in future. For now, we are going with only those crops where MSP is declared by the centre, he added.