Capt Amarinder seeks bonus on paddy

In a letter to the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Capt Amarinder said that the input costs in agriculture had increased substantially in recent times hence there was a need to give bonus on paddy  which is currently being procured.

He said in order to ensure that agriculture remained remunerative to the farmers it was important that they should be given adequate MSP and when MSP is insufficient and not commensurate to the price index, particularly in view of the increasing input costs like fertilisers and diesel during the recent past, they should be given bonus to compensate for their input costs.

The former Chief Minister pointed out, the diesel prices had gone up and so had the prices of fertilisers like the DAP. Under these circumstances the agriculture was becoming less remunerative.  Capt Amarinder pointed out, the farmers’ contribution in ensuring the food security in the country needs to be adequately acknowledged and their interests watched.