The Union government on Wednesday increased the minimum support price for 14 kharif crops. Sowing for the kharif season, one of the two major annual crop cycles in India, generally begins in June.

The minimum support price is the guaranteed amount paid to farmers when the government buys their produce. The Centre fixes a minimum support price for 23 agricultural commodities grown in the kharif and rabi seasons.

A press release from the Union government on Wednesday said that the guaranteed price for the season had been increased in line with “the Union Budget 2018-19 announcement of fixing the MSP [minimum support price] at a level of at least 1.5 times of the all-India weighted average cost of production”.

The government said that farmers are expected to receive a margin of more than 50% over their cost of production for four crops: bajra (77%), arhar dal (59%), maize (54%) and black gram at (52%). “For rest of the crops, margin to farmers over their cost of production is estimated to be at 50%,” the press release said.

The minimum support price for both common paddy and grade A paddy increased by Rs 117 per quintal.

The highest increase in minimum support price was recommended for oilseeds and pulses, the Union government said. The guaranteed price for nigerseed rose by Rs 983 per quintal, while sesamum increased by Rs 632 per quintal. The minimum support price for Arhar dal rose by Rs 550 per quintal.

At a press conference during the day, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the increase in the minimum support price was likely to result in a total financial implication of Rs 2 lakh crore, which was nearly Rs 35,000 crore higher than the previous kharif season.