Maharashtra to open procurement centres for soybean to pacify farmers
However, farmers and industry experts still doubt whether this move would help them get a good price for the crop
Mumbai: After facing the wrath of soybean farmers in the Lok Sabha elections and to avoid a repeat in the upcoming assembly polls, the Maharashtra government has decided to open procurement centres for the legume for the first time, with a minimum support price (MSP) of ₹4,892 per quintal. However, farmers and industry experts still doubt whether this move would help them get a good price for the crop.
While sugarcane and onions have traditionally been the crops with political implications in Maharashtra, soybean was the largest crop in this year’s kharif season, accounting for 5,152,251 hectares or 34.9% of the total area cultivated in the fall harvest. However, soybean farmers in Maharashtra, the second largest producer of the crop in India, are facing a severe financial crisis as they are currently getting only around ₹4,300 per quintal, below the minimum support price (MSP) of ₹4,600.
In the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, soybean farmers are believed to have expressed their displeasure over the low prices by voting against Mahayuti candidates, resulting in the ruling alliance winning only 17 of the 48 seats in the state.
Although farmers from the western and northern parts of Maharashtra also grow the legume, around 80% of the soybean area in the state lies in Marathwada and western Vidarbha, which account for 76 of the 288 seats in the state assembly. Soybean producers could also play an important role in some seats in other parts of the state.
Against this backdrop, the Mahayuti government has decided to open procurement centres with an MSP of ₹4,892 per quintal. According to the agricultural department, this will help increase the market price of the legume. State agriculture minister Dhananjay Munde has called a meeting on Thursday to decide the structure of the procurement system and other details.
However, soybean farmers and producers aren’t rejoicing yet.
“I have 2.5 acres of land under soybean,” said Kalidas Apet, a farmer from Ambajogai in Beed. “In the last two years, we were not getting the desired price for the crop. Two months back, I sold last year’s crop at around ₹4,200 per quintal due to financial needs. It’s good that the government is starting the procurement centres with a new MSP of ₹4,892 per quintal. But they will have to ensure that farmers will get the maximum benefit of it and not the traders.”
Hemant Vaidya, who runs a soybean processing unit and warehouse in Latur, added that since this is the first time the state government is procuring soybeans, it’s difficult to estimate its impact on the market price of the crop and how much the government could buy.