The Maharashtra government is planning to supply seeds, fertilisers and pesticides free of cost to small and marginal farmers to keep the production costs minimal and to reduce their losses.

Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil gave this information while talking to the reporters today in Mumbai. He said that the idea is to keep the production cost or input cost minimal so that farmers will not feel the heat when the market rates are down.

Expressing concern over a large number of farmers currently under debt, the minister said that the state government would also include farm labourers into the fold of National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme in the next couple of months.

Patil added that the government is also coming with a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for food grains, which will ensure that farmers will get certain minimum amount for their produce.