Assembly polls ahead, Centre steps in to rescue Maharashtra farmers as soyabean prices fall below MSP
The Union government is set to procure one-fourth of state's production, with politically crucial Marathwada particularly hit due to fall in soyabean prices. The issue is believed to have also hurt NDA parties in LS polls.
Apart from Maharashtra, the Centre has also approved soyabean procurement from Telangana and Karnataka under the PSS. (File photo/ Representational) With soyabean prices in the market falling below the minimum support price (MSP), the Centre is set to procure 13 lakh metric tonnes of the oilseed from Maharashtra, which is a major producer of the crop and is scheduled to go to Assembly polls soon.
The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has approved the procurement of one-fourth of Maharashtra’s total estimated soyabean production of 52 lakh metric tonnes in 2023-24.
Two government cooperatives – the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumer’s Federation of India Limited (NCCF) – will complete the procurement under the Centre’s Price Support Scheme (PSS).
Apart from Maharashtra, the Centre has also approved soyabean procurement from Telangana and Karnataka under the PSS.
“We have approved procurement of about 15 lakh tonnes of soyabean across three states – Maharashtra (13 lakh tonnes), Telangana (0.56 lakh tonnes) and Karnataka (1 lakh tonnes) – under the PSS. The NAFED and the NCCF will soon start procurement in these states,” an official told The Indian Express.
On August 30, the Centre had written a letter to four major soyabean-producing states – Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan – urging them to undertake the PSS operations if the price of soyabean continues to remain below the MSP. On September 5, the Agriculture Ministry officials held a meeting with NAFED and NCCF officials to discuss the necessary steps to ensure procurement operations, said the official.
On June 19, 2024, the Centre fixed the MSP for soyabean at Rs 4,892 per quintal in 2024-25 – Rs 292 higher than the previous season’s Rs 4,600 per quintal.
However, the model wholesale prices of soyabean are below this MSP in mandis across the states. For instance, the model price of soyabean was recorded in the range of Rs 3,800 to Rs 4,675 per quintal in Maharashtra on September 5, according to the government’s AgMarknet database. In Madhya Pradesh, the prices were in the range of Rs 2,450 to Rs 4,760 per quintal. In other major soyabean-producing states like Gujarat, Karnataka and Rajasthan, the mandi prices were even lower.
The decline in global average soyabean prices per metric tonne.
Now, the NAFED and NCCF will procure soyabeans at the MSP rate, the official said.
A kharif season crop, soyabean is used as feed and for oil extraction. It is sown in June-July and harvested in September-October. In Maharashtra, where Assembly polls are due later this year with the current government’s term ending on November 26, soyabean is cultivated in 28 of the state’s 36 districts. Marathwada is a major soyabean-producing region – of the top 10 districts for soyabean production in 2022-23, seven fall in the Marathwada region.
After sugarcane, onion and milk, it is soyabean that is now generating political heat in Maharashtra in the run-up to the Assembly polls. Unlike the other three, which are mostly produced in western and northern Maharashtra, soyabean is predominantly grown in the state’s Marathwada and Vidarbha regions, where a large section of farmers had been worried about the crop’s prices crashing even ahead of harvesting.
The slide in soyabean prices had contributed to ruling Mahayuti alliance’s woes while giving fresh ammunition to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance – comprising the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) – in the recent Lok Sabha polls. The MVA had won 30 of the state’s 48 seats, as against the Mahayuti’s win in 17. In Marathwada, the MVA had bagged eight of nine seats, and in Vidarbha, 7 of 10.
The Agriculture Ministry is also learnt to be considering recommending a hike in the duties on soyabean oil to further check the decline in prices in the domestic market. The Centre had in June 2023 reduced the import duties and cess on crude and refined soyabean oil until March 2025.
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