Government on Wednesday said that the prices of the food articles might come down only after the ensuing Rabi season. Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told economic editors conference in New Delhi that due to impact of scant monsoon and impact floods, the prices will not come down immediately. He said that the growth of agriculture would hover around 1.5 per cent this year. The Agriculture Minister said that 10 lakh tons of wheat and 5 lakh tons of rice have been allocated for open market sale to moderate the prices. Mr. Pawar said that enough food grain stocks are available including rice and wheat in the godowns to bridge the gap between demand and supply. He said that over 284 lakh tons of food grains are available for public distribution system, PDS. The minister said that the food subsidy has risen to 66 thousand crore rupees. Center has been maintaining that many states across the country are yet to tone up this system and it is high time that they take corrective actions to strengthen the PDS. Replying a volley of questions on the rising prices of the food articles, Mr. Pawar asserted that for providing better prices to farmers, people would have to pay more. He also gave the details of the revision in the MSP of food grains in the last six years. In reply to a question, he said that there is need to import raw sugar to meet its demand and assured to discuss with the sugar mill owners the low prices being paid to them. Mr. Pawar exhorted that he will ensure that they get remunerative prices. He said that the government has launched a series of initiatives to increase agriculture productivity. This includes introduction of Rashtriya Vikas Yojna, National Food Security Mission, availability of seeds and the fertilizers and credit flow to farmers.