The Modi government’s grand millet campaign promised prosperity for small farmers, but Rajasthan’s Bajra growers feel betrayed. Despite Bajra being on the MSP list, they are forced to sell the crop at throwaway prices, raising uncomfortable questions. A report by Jag Mohan Thaken
While inaugurating the Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference on March 18, 2023, the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi reiterated that the year 2023 was declared the International Year of Millets by the United Nations after persistent efforts by India. The Prime Minister informed that India now calls millets – ‘Shree Anna’.
Informing further that about 2.5 crore small farmers are directly involved in the production of millets in India, the Prime Minister noted that they faced the challenges of climate change even though they own very little land. “India’s Millet Mission – The campaign for Shri Anna will prove to be a boon for 2.5 crore farmers of the country”, the Prime Minister said. He pointed out that it is the first time after the independence that the government has taken care of 2.5 crore small farmers who grow millets (Bajra, Jowar, Ragi etc.).
He also added that many states have included Shree Anna in their PDS system and suggested that other states follow suit. He also suggested including Shree Anna in the mid-day meal so that children can get proper nutrition while also adding a new taste and variety to the food.
But has the Prime Minister’s concern about the millets campaign for Shri Anna proved a boon for 2.5 crore small farmers who grow millets? Why the farmers of Rajasthan, the largest Bajra grower state, producing 45% of Bajra of the country’s total produce, still have to sell their crop in the market at throw away prices?
Despite Inclusion in the Central List, why the Rajasthan farmers are deprived of MSP on Bajra? Allured by the promises of the BJP in its manifesto, publicised as Modi’s Guarantee, during Rajasthan state assembly election in 2023, the farmers diverted their vote support in favour of the BJP and defeated the Congress, so that they could get the MSP for their Bajra crop, but what did they get? Now they are perplexed on their decision, as the present BJP-led state government, despite its double engine support of the BJP-led centre, has totally rejected any suggestion for providing MSP on Bajra.
On March 20, Rajasthan Food and Civil Supplies Minister Sumit Godara said in the Assembly that after Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared coarse grains as Shri Anna, the support price of millet has increased and the farmers have got direct benefit from it, but in a written reply to the original question of MLA Pabbaram Vishnoi, the Minister accepted that during the Kharif marketing season 2021-22 to 2023-24, the target for purchasing millet at the minimum support price in the state has not been fixed and purchase has not been made accordingly.
When the state government is not procuring the millets (Bajra etc.) on MSP since 2021-22, despite inclusion in central MSP list, how the minister is claiming that after Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared coarse grains as Shri Anna, the support price of millet has increased and the farmers have got direct benefit from it? How Rajasthan farmers got benefitted from PM’s declaration, when not even a single grain of Bajra is purchased by the government on MSP? What a funny joke with the farmers!
The Government of India in its press release dated 18 March, 2025 states that government fixes minimum support prices (MSPs) for 22 mandated agricultural crops on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP), after considering the views of the state governments and the central ministries/departments concerned. The release claims that the government procures cereals and coarse cereals through Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other designated state agencies to provide price support to the farmers.
But the question stands unanswered; why Bajra is not being purchased by the government on MSP in Rajasthan? Bajra is one of the crops which has been included in the MSP list by the centre.
Due to not extending MSP to Bajra, farmers of Rajasthan have to face a double-edged trouble, because most of the millet production areas are dependent on rain; when it does not rain, the farmers have to struggle to get even the grains to eat and if the rains are good and millet is produced in abundance, then due to the lack of minimum support price, they are forced to sell their millet crop at throw away prices.
Even Prime Minister Modi himself stated in his address March 18, that 2.5 crore small farmers are directly involved in the production of millets in India and they faced the challenges of climate change even though they own very little land. When PM himself knows the predicament being faced by the millet growers, why is the government not procuring their produce on MSP?
Govind Singh Dotasra, the President of Rajasthan State Congress, while raising the plight of Bajra grower farmers on his social media platform, FB, on March 21,2025 states, “One after the other, ‘Modi’s guarantee’ is turning out to be a bundle of lies. Exploitation of farmers is the truth of BJP’s rule.”
The state president adds, “Before the elections, Prime Minister Modi gave a guarantee to buy millets at the minimum support price. The BJP also promised to buy millets at MSP in its Sankalp Patra, but the hopeful farmers of the state who were deceived have got only disappointment so far. Now, the government is clearly refusing to buy millets at MSP.”
Dotasra raises the question, “Why does the Chief Minister, who calls himself a farmer’s son, not have the power to speak for the farmers? There is a BJP government both at the centre and the state, so why is the Chief Minister unable to take any decision in the interest of farmers?”
Dotasra asks, “Chief Minister ji.. what crime have the farmers of Rajasthan committed that the BJP government is giving them a step-motherly treatment.?”
Criticizing further, Dotasra adds, “Rajasthan is the leading state in millet production, the highest 42% millet production in the country takes place in Rajasthan alone. Just imagine, in a state where the average market production is 40 lakh tonnes, the government is buying only 3 thousand tonnes of millet, whereas in the neighbouring state of Haryana, 4.5 lakh tonnes of millet has been bought on MSP.” “This is a sheer fraud of the BJP government with the farmers,” he bristled.
On March 26, 2025, senior Congress leader and a former chief minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, also tweeted, “Today, in a government programme, the Chief Minister commented on my tweets which highlighted the public’s complaints and the government’s shortcomings.”
Gehlot further asks, “Chief Minister, I want to remind you of a tweet of yours which is about two and a half years old, in which you were protesting against the Congress government demanding the purchase of millets on MSP.” Gehlot adds, “Chief Minister, your government is now going to complete one and a half years. There was a promise of purchasing millets on MSP in your manifesto too. Today, please tell us when are you going to start purchasing millets on MSP?”
The question – “Despite Inclusion in Central List, Why Rajasthan Farmers are Deprived of MSP on Bajra?”, still pinching the distressed farmers and now the helpless farmers are again waiting for the forthcoming assembly elections going to be held in 2028, as it is the tradition in Rajasthan to change the governing party in every alternate election. Will the ruling BJP rethink over its promise of providing MSP on Bajra in its 2023 election manifesto or has accepted the inevitable change in advance?
