Date:13/01/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/13/stories/2008011354821000.htm

National

BJP seeks higher MSP for cotton growers

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: A higher minimum support price for cotton was a must if the spate of suicides by cotton farmers was to be stopped, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said here on Saturday.

Mr. Javadekar, who accompanied BJP president Rajnath Singh on a recent ‘yatra’ through suicide-affected districts of Vidarbha in Maharashtra, said the need of the hour was a total package covering crop insurance for farmers with small land holdings, interest on lower rates, social security through a pension scheme and a minimum support price that was 50 per cent more than the cost of inputs. Mr. Singh will soon be writing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to highlight the problems and suggest remedies, Mr. Javadekar told reporters.