New Delhi:The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved an increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for 14 Kharif crops for the 2026-27 marketing season, aiming to ensure remunerative returns to farmers.
The highest absolute increase in MSP has been announced for sunflower seed, which saw a hike of ₹622 per quintal, followed by cotton at ₹557 per quintal, nigerseed at ₹515 per quintal, and sesamum at ₹500 per quintal.
Among major food grains, the MSP for common paddy has been increased to ₹2,441 per quintal for the 2026-27 season, up by ₹72 from the previous year’s MSP of ₹2,369 per quintal. Grade A paddy has been fixed at ₹2,461 per quintal.
The MSP for maize has been raised to ₹2,410 per quintal, while bajra will now fetch ₹2,900 per quintal and ragi ₹5,205 per quintal.
For pulses, the MSP of tur/arhar has been increased to ₹8,450 per quintal, moong to ₹8,780 per quintal, and urad to ₹8,200 per quintal.
In the oilseeds category, sunflower seed MSP has been fixed at ₹8,343 per quintal, soybean at ₹5,708, sesamum at ₹10,346, groundnut at ₹7,517, and nigerseed at ₹10,052 per quintal.
Cotton prices have also witnessed a significant increase, with medium staple cotton MSP fixed at ₹8,267 per quintal and long staple cotton at ₹8,667 per quintal.
The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare said the revised MSPs are in line with the Union Budget 2018-19 commitment of fixing MSPs at least 1.5 times the all-India weighted average cost of production.
According to official estimates, farmers are expected to receive the highest margin over production cost in moong at 61 per cent, followed by bajra and maize at 56 per cent each, and tur/arhar at 54 per cent. For the remaining crops, the margin over cost is estimated at around 50 per cent.
The Ministry said the Centre has continued to encourage cultivation of pulses, oilseeds, and nutri-cereals, also known as “Shree Anna,” by offering relatively higher MSP increases compared to cereals.
The Ministry also highlighted a significant rise in procurement and MSP payments during the last decade.
Between 2014-15 and 2025-26, paddy procurement stood at 8,418 lakh metric tonnes (LMT), compared to 4,590 LMT during 2004-05 to 2013-14.
Similarly, procurement of 14 Kharif crops during 2014-15 to 2025-26 reached 8,746 LMT, nearly double the 4,679 LMT recorded in the previous decade.
The MSP amount paid to paddy farmers during 2014-15 to 2025-26 was ₹16.08 lakh crore, compared to ₹4.44 lakh crore during 2004-05 to 2013-14.
For all 14 Kharif crops combined, MSP payments to farmers touched ₹18.99 lakh crore over the last decade, significantly higher than the ₹4.75 lakh crore paid during the previous ten-year period.
The government said the MSP revisions are aimed at ensuring better income security for farmers, promoting crop diversification, and strengthening domestic agricultural production.