Bengal farmers’ body rejects MSP of Rs 900 a quintal for potatoes as inadequate. Sanyukt Kisan Morcha organised protests in different districts of West Bengal throughout Friday demanding that the MSP should be fixed at Rs 1,300 per quintal at least. The protesting farmers accused that the state government’s newly-fixed MSP will not even help them recover the cost of production. The association is also objecting to the ceiling of a maximum 35 quintals of potatoes that the government would directly purchase from the farmers. The other demand of the protesting farmers was increasing the quantum of subsidy on fertilisers. The proposed minimum support price of potato at Rs 900 per kilogram works out to Rs 9 a kilogram. But at the retail markets potatoes are being sold between Rs 30 to Rs 40 a kilograms depending on varieties almost the entire year. The state government is reluctant to take concrete actions on these two factors, said a Pradeshik Krishak Sabha representative.
