Sunny Khurma
Cheif Editor
Punjab, October 2, 2026: Farmer organisations in Punjab have expressed dissatisfaction with the Centre’s decision to increase the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of wheat by ₹25 per quintal for the 2027–28 marketing season, arguing that the revision does not adequately reflect rising cultivation costs.
The new MSP for wheat has been fixed at ₹2,610 per quintal, compared with ₹2,585 per quintal during the 2026–27 season.
Several farmer leaders have described the increase as insufficient in view of higher expenditure on diesel, fertilisers, pesticides, seeds, machinery, labour and other agricultural inputs.
Farmer organisations have maintained that the MSP should be calculated using a more comprehensive assessment of cultivation costs and have reiterated their demand for the C2+50% formula, which they say would provide farmers with a more realistic return on their investment and labour.
They have also renewed their longstanding demand for a legal guarantee for MSP, arguing that announcing a support price alone does not ensure that every farmer is able to sell produce at that rate.
In Mansa, members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Dakonda) held a protest against the wheat MSP increase and said the latest revision offered little relief to farmers facing steadily rising expenses.
The organisation said that unless crop prices increase in line with actual cultivation costs, pressure on farming households will continue.
Other farmer representatives in Punjab have raised similar concerns, saying the ₹25 increase amounts to less than a one-percent rise in the wheat support price.
The Central government, however, has said the MSP for wheat has been fixed at a level substantially above the estimated all-India weighted average cost of production.
According to the government’s calculation, the estimated production cost for wheat during the 2027–28 marketing season is ₹1,264 per quintal, while the announced MSP of ₹2,610 provides a margin of around 106% over that cost.
The government says its MSP policy follows the principle of fixing support prices at least 1.5 times the estimated production cost and is intended to ensure remunerative returns to farmers.
Farmer groups dispute whether the official method fully captures the actual economic burden borne by cultivators, particularly the value of land, capital investment and other long-term costs.
Along with wheat, the Centre has increased MSP for all six mandated Rabi crops.
The MSP for barley has been raised by ₹136 to ₹2,286 per quintal, gram by ₹83 to ₹5,958, lentil by ₹390 to ₹7,390, rapeseed and mustard by ₹413 to ₹6,613, and safflower by ₹675 to ₹7,215 per quintal.
The considerably larger increases for oilseeds and pulses form part of the government’s effort to encourage crop diversification and reduce dependence on imports.
For Punjab, however, wheat remains one of the most important crops, making even a relatively small change in its MSP significant for a large number of farming families.
Farmer organisations say they will continue raising the issue and pressing for a pricing system that they believe more accurately reflects the complete cost of cultivation.
The debate over the latest MSP announcement is therefore likely to continue as farmers prepare for the upcoming wheat-growing season and discussions around agricultural pricing and legal MSP guarantees remain active.
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