CACP was established in January 1965 as ‘Agricultural Prices Commission’. This was later renamed as ‘Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP)’ in 1985. CACP is headquartered in New Delhi.
The Commission comprises a Chairman, Member Secretary, one Member (Official) and two Members (Non-Official). The non-official members are representatives of the farming community and usually have an active association with the farming community.
CACP recommends Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) to incentivize the cultivators to adopt modern technology and raise productivity and overall grain production in line with the emerging demand patterns in the country. CACP visits states for on-the-spot assessment of various constraints that farmers face in marketing their produce. It ensures that the farmers are not compelled to sell their produce in distress and promote greater price discovery of agricultural commodities.
As of now, CACP recommends MSPs of 23 commodities, which comprise 7 cereals (paddy, wheat, maize, sorghum, pearl millet, barley and ragi), 5 pulses (gram, tur, moong, urad, lentil), 7 oilseeds (groundnut, rapeseed-mustard, soyabean, seasmum, sunflower, safflower, nigerseed), and 4 commercial crops (copra, sugarcane, cotton and raw jute).
