Input cost for soya crop has gone up to Rs 7,000 a quintal against its market price of Rs 3,200 a quintal In an attempt to achieve 20 per cent return on farming activities, farmers in Madhya Pradesh are planning to chalk out a self-regulatory mechanism. A marathon meeting in this regards is planned in November, in which ways to reduce farm input cost will be discussed. According to the Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), for the factors which adversely affect farming, the Sangh would go to the state government. According to BKS sources and farmers, inflation has put pressure on farm business in the state. As a result, input for soya crop cost has gone up to Rs 7,000 a quintal against its market price of Rs 3,200 a quintal. Similarly, wheat input cost has gone up to Rs 6,400 a quintal in the Bundelkhand region against its market price of Rs 1,500 a quintal. BKS plans to demand a hike in the support price form the state government and an immediate review to the land acquisition policy. “Agriculture is now costlier business owing to frequent power cuts and irrigation problems. We want the minimum support price on soya to be hiked by Rs 500 a quintal. We will look at reducing input cost by self-discipline. Our aim is to take at least 20 per cent return from farming. The November meeting will focus on these things,” said Rambharos Basotia, BKS president, MP Chapter. “Farm land acquisition is another issue. We want the non-farm land, which is 48 per cent of the total area, to be acquired for non-farm use,” Basotia added. BKS will motivate its 600,000 members and other non-members to adopt manage-it-yourself mechanism, since power and irrigation keep haunting farmers. “We will involve more members of the family to join farming, use locally made bio-fertilisers and home-grown seeds to reduce input cost. However, to demand regular power and water supply we have to launch a movement. Dates for that will be decided later,” said Gopal Patel, another BKs official. As most farmers are engaged in rented land, farm input cost in Madhya Pradesh is higher than other states. According to BKS, land rent at present is Rs 10,000-18,000 an acre. According to BKS, farm yield has remain stagnant at 7-9 quintal an acre for soya and 8-12 acre for wheat this year.