He said the increase in MSP for wheat, a major rabi crop, should have been much higher than what has been announced by the Centre.

Reacting to the development, Sanghani told Newsline that the MSP of wheat was raised from Rs 1,000 per quintal to Rs 1,080 – a meagre increase of Rs 80 per quintal. This would hardly help Gujarat farmers, as wheat price is already hovering around Rs 1,200 per quintal in the open market across the state, he said.

In fact, the government had demanded that the Centre fix the MSP of wheat between Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,400 per quintal so as to help farmers earn more from their produce, Sanghani said.

He added: “The Centre had last year imported a huge quantum of wheat from Australia at Rs 1,800 per quintal. Instead of encouraging our domestic farmers to grow more wheat by paying them adequate remunerative prices, the Centre focuses more on import.”

Ironically, the state unit of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) – the BJP's farmers' wing – has hailed the Centre's decision to increase the MSP of wheat and other rabi crops.

“Last season, ryots in Gujarat were a worried lot due to the wheat prices

registering lower prices than the MSP. This time, the increase would certainly help wheat growers in our state,” said a senior BKS leader.

According to S R Chaudhary, the Additional Director (Agriculture), the wheat production in Gujarat this season is likely to go down due to “adverse climatic conditions”. The rabi crop yield may fall by about five to six lakh metric tonnes, as compared to nearly 30 lakh metric tonne production recorded in the previous season.