Getting prices right was my priority

chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) for the last three years, Ashok Gulati’s thrust has been to recommend higher hike in minimum support prices (MSPs) for import-intensive oilseeds and pulses, and relatively lower MSP hikes for rice and wheat to curb excess stocks. As Gulati prepares to relinquish his office on Friday, he spoke to FE’s Sandip Das on a range of issues impacting Indian agriculture.With your three-year stint at CACP coming to an end, what do you think are the major achievements of the commission during this period?When I took up this job in March 2011, I knew I had just three years. So, I set out only two goals: get the prices right, and get the markets right. I believe that farmers cannot get the right prices for their produce if markets are strangulated. You may recall that exports of wheat and common rice were banned since September 2007. This type of a restrictive export policy is a hidden instrument of taxing peasantry.