The man behind India’s Green Revolution, Dr M S Swaminathan has lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi Government’s efforts in taking “several decisions” to improve the status and income of farmers in the last four years. Little action on the recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers (NCF) was taken until the Modi Government came to power.

In an article in The Times of India, Swaminathan said that the NCF was set up in 2004 by the then National Democratic Alliance Government under him. The NCF submitted its report in 2006 (when the United Democratic Alliance government under Manmohan Singh was in power) and until 2014 very little action had been taken over the recommendations.

The 1971 Ramon Magsaysay Award winner for community leadership said the determination of minimum support price (MSP) on the basis of NCF recommendations and assured procurement at MSP were some of the notable developments of the Modi government.

Swaminathan also lauded the government’s announcement of a remunerative price system based on NCF’s recommendations. This would help economic viability of farming, he said, adding that from this year’s kharif season the MSP of notified crops would be 150 to 200 per cent of the cost of production.

This statement should put to rest questions that were raised on the MSP announcement made by the government for the kharif season that began in July. Some of the government’s critics, especially Congress, dubbed the announcement as an eyewash and not meeting the expectations of the farming community. Some had even questioned the formula for arriving at the MSP.

“(Prime Minister Modi’s) emphasis on agriculture as the prime industry of rural India urges doing everything possible to make agriculture both a source of income and the pride of our nation,” Swaminathan said.