Abstract
Food security in India is intrinsically linked to the functioning of agricultural pricing systems, particularly the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism, which has served as a cornerstone of agrarian policy since the Green Revolution. Designed to offer farmers a guaranteed remunerative price and insulate them from market fluctuations, MSP simultaneously supports the procurement needs of the Public Distribution System and contributes to the country’s buffer stock capacity. This abstract critically examines the relationship between MSP policies and India’s broader food security objectives, highlighting both their strengths and persistent structural limitations. While MSP has been effective in boosting cereal production and ensuring stable grain availability for welfare schemes, its benefits remain unevenly distributed across regions and farmers due to limited procurement outreach, crop-specific focus, and the absence of statutory enforceability. The disproportionate emphasis on rice and wheat encourages monocropping, ecological stress, and regional disparities, which undermines sustainable food production and nutritional security. Fiscal burdens associated with large-scale procurement, storage inefficiencies, and buffer stock surpluses further complicate the long-term viability of MSP-centric food security strategies. At the same time, climate change and emerging market reforms necessitate a comprehensive reassessment of existing policies. The abstract concludes that reforming MSP through diversification, regional expansion, sustainability-driven incentives, and stronger policy integration is crucial for aligning agricultural pricing with the long-term demands of a resilient and inclusive food security framework in India.
Keywords: Minimum Support Price, Food Security, Public Distribution System, Agricultural Procurement, Crop Diversification
- Introduction
Food security has long been a central pillar of India’s socio-economic planning, shaped by the country’s historical experiences of famine,[1] chronic food shortage, and volatile agricultural markets. Defined by the FAO as a condition in which all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food, food security in India is not merely a matter of production but of equitable distribution, affordability, and long-term sustainability. In this context, the agricultural pricing system—particularly the Minimum Support Price (MSP)—has played an indispensable role in stabilising farm incomes and ensuring the continuous availability of food grains for public welfare programmes.[2] MSP was introduced in the mid-1960s as a policy response to severe food crises, low productivity, and high dependence on foreign imports. As part of the Green Revolution strategy, it aimed to give farmers a guaranteed floor price for their produce, thereby incentivising investments in new technologies, hybrid seeds, and high-yielding varieties. Over time, MSP has evolved from a procurement-linked mechanism for a few crops to a central feature of India’s agricultural and food security architecture.
The role of MSP in securing India’s food system must be understood in light of its dual objectives. First, MSP seeks to protect farmers from market volatility, middlemen exploitation, and sudden price crashes, ensuring a minimum level of livelihood security. Second, it enables the government to procure adequate quantities of food grains to maintain buffer stocks and operate the Public Distribution System (PDS), which supplies essential grains at subsidised rates to millions of vulnerable households.[3] This dual-purpose structure makes MSP unique among global agricultural policies, combining elements of price support, food distribution, and social welfare.
Despite its foundational role, MSP continues to be the subject of intense policy debate and academic scrutiny. Supporters argue that MSP provides essential income stability in a predominantly smallholder economy where over half the population depends on agriculture for livelihood. They emphasise its contributions to increasing cereal production, achieving self-sufficiency, and insulating the nation from global food supply shocks. Critics, however, highlight structural inefficiencies such as limited procurement coverage, crop bias toward rice and wheat, regional imbalances, and large fiscal burdens associated with procurement and storage. The concentration of MSP benefits in states like Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Western Uttar Pradesh reflects deep systemic inequalities, leaving farmers in eastern, central, and southern India with inadequate access to procurement infrastructure.
The impact of MSP on environmental sustainability is another critical concern. The policy’s narrow focus has encouraged monocropping, excessive groundwater extraction, high chemical fertilizer usage, and declining soil health.[4] These ecological stresses have long-term implications for India’s food security, as climate change further intensifies risks of crop failure, extreme weather events, and unpredictable rainfall patterns. Food security can no longer be assessed merely by grain availability; it must also address nutritional security, crop diversification, and resilience of agro-ecosystems.
In recent years, MSP has re-entered national discourse due to farmers’ protests, demands for legal guarantee of MSP, and broader agricultural market reforms.[5] The controversies surrounding the now-repealed farm laws brought MSP policies to the forefront, raising questions about whether the mechanism should continue in its current form, be legally mandated, or transformed into a more diversified and efficient price assurance framework. These debates underscore the need to re-evaluate MSP in the context of contemporary challenges—urbanisation, dietary transitions, climate change, and the growing role of private markets and agri-tech platforms.
This research paper critically analyses the intersection of MSP policies and India’s food security goals. It examines the historical evolution of MSP, its legal and institutional frameworks, and its effectiveness in shaping food availability, affordability, and accessibility. It also explores regional disparities, environmental implications, and the broader socio-economic consequences of MSP-centric agricultural strategies. By assessing both achievements and limitations, the paper seeks to propose balanced, evidence-based recommendations for reforming MSP to enhance India’s long-term food security, ensure sustainability, and strengthen farmer welfare across diverse agro-climatic regions.
[1] Meena, Rajendra Prasad. “An Analysis of the Minimum Support Price in India: A Systematic Literature Review.”
[2] Varma, Poornima, Jannet John, and Anar Bhatt. “Impact of minimum support price policy and national food security mission on the production of pulses in India.” (2019).
[3] Bhattacharya, Shrayana, Vanita Leah Falcao, and Raghav Puri. “The public distribution system in India.” The 1.5 billion people question (2017): 43.
[4] Bhattacharya, Shrayana, Vanita Leah Falcao, and Raghav Puri. “The public distribution system in India.” The 1.5 billion people question (2017): 43.
[5] Haag, Leonora. “Sowing Dependency Conditions of World Bank Agricultural Lending to Egypt and India 1970s-2020s.” (2024).