Centre extends deadline for soyabean procurement in Maharashtra till January 31

The central government also extended the soybean procurement deadline in Rajasthan to February 4 — the previous deadline was January 15.

As on January 12, Maharashtra had procured 1.45 lakh tonnes of soyabean, as per official sources.

“Despite the highest number of state level agencies for crop procurement, the lower procurement of the crop is being attributed to higher moisture content in the crops,” the source said.

The norms regarding moisture condition was relaxed last year to ensure farmers got higher rates. As against the minimum support price for soybean at Rs 4,892 per quintal, farmers were selling crops at Rs 4,100 -4200 per quintal.

Meanwhile, Fadnavis on Monday directed the state marketing department to set up a permanent mechanism to ensure hurdle-free procurement of soyabean from farmers.

The directive was issued in a meeting of the chief minister with officials of the state marketing department at the Sahyadri guest house.

“Every year, the marketing department procures soyabean from farmers. The department should establish a permanent mechanism to ensure the procurement process happens without any obstacles,” Fadnavis said.

Soyabean is among the main kharif crops which is cultivated in Vidarbha and Marathwada regions of Maharashtra. The area under soybean cultivation varies between 41and 45 lakh hectares.

The CM’s directives come amid farmers selling their crops in distress at rates lower than the Minimum Support Price (MSP). Often small and medium farmers, who constitute up to 78 per cent of the soybean cultivators, are forced to sell their soyabean at agriculture produce market committees (APMC) in their respective districts at rates lower than MSP to cope with financial distress.

During the meeting, Fadnavis also mooted the concept of developing Agro Hubs along the Samruddhi Highway and instructed the officials to prepare and submit a layout plan for the same.

The chief minister also instructed the officials to ensure preparations to procure soyabean — including the registration of farmers — are completed by October as the process of procurement begins in November.

The CM also directed officials to submit proposals to set up Agro Logistics in all four regions of the state.

Additional Chief Secretary of Marketing Department Rajagopal Devara, while presenting the department’s plans, announced that a Mahabazar will be established on around 250 acres of land in Navi Mumbai.

He added that one market committee will be established in each taluka of the state.

Market committees with revenue above Rs 1 crore will be sub-categorised into groups of Rs 1-2.5 crore, Rs 2.5-5 crore, Rs 5-10 crore, and Rs 10-25 crore. He also mentioned that the Agro Hub at Jabhurgaon in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district is complete and will be inaugurated within 45 days.

The meeting was attended by School Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse, Tourism Minister Shambhuraj Desai, Public Works Minister Shivendrasinhraje Bhosale, Ministers of State Indranil Naik and Meghana Sakore-Bordikar, Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik, Additional Chief Secretary of Marketing Department Rajagopal Devara, along with principal secretaries, additional chief secretaries, and secretaries of various departments.