The Madhya Pradesh government is working on a new formula for providing an additional bonus to farmers on paddy and wheat beyond the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

Under the new proposal, instead of paying a bonus based on production (per quintal), the bonus will be provided according to the area of land cultivated, at a rate of Rs 2000 per hectare. This formula is being implemented for paddy, and it is also being considered for wheat.

Currently, Madhya Pradesh is procuring a large amount of paddy, with approximately 40 lakh tonnes being collected from over 6 lakh farmers.

The state government has already paid Rs 6489 crore based on the MSP of Rs 2300 per quintal, but the bonus issue remains unresolved.

In neighboring Chhattisgarh, the government has been offering a bonus on paddy that includes Rs 2300 per quintal as MSP and an additional Rs 800 per quintal as a bonus.

Experts suggest that the new formula in Madhya Pradesh could save significant government expenditure, as the payment would be based on area rather than production.

However, this could result in lower total bonuses for farmers. For instance, under the new scheme, a farmer with an average paddy yield of 40-50 quintals per hectare would only receive Rs 2000 per hectare as a bonus,

whereas a per-quintal bonus would have resulted in a payment of Rs 32,000-40,000 per hectare, causing a potential financial loss for farmers.