BJP-led central and state governments should make sure that soyabean procurement centres must remain open till entire stock is purchased from farmers, demanded state congress president Nana Patole here today.
He said that farmers in Maharashtra, particularly in the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions, still have lakhs of quintals of soyabean unsold.
The soyabean procurement centres are set to remain open until February 6. However, since all the soyabean from farmers will not be procured within this period, the state and central governments must keep these centres open until the entire stock is purchased.
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If necessary, the number of procurement centres should also be increased, stated Patole.
Speaking on the issue, Nana Patole stated that there are over 30 lakh soyabean-producing farmers in the state, of which approximately 7.5 lakh have registered at various procurement centres across Maharashtra.
Out of these, soyabean was purchased from around 3 to 3.5 lakh farmers. Most farmers were forced to sell their produce at whatever price they could get in the open market.
Currently, soyabean is fetching Rs 3,500 to Rs 4,000 per quintal in open markets and agricultural produce market committees (APMCs), whereas the minimum support price (MSP) is Rs 4,851 per quintal. Considering production costs and current market rates, farmers are incurring losses.
Therefore, the government must increase the number of procurement centres and keep them open until all farmers' soyabean is purchased to prevent further financial damage to them.
Since the procurement centres were opened, several issues have arisen—first, a lack of storage space, followed by a shortage of gunny bags. This has led to complete mismanagement at government procurement centres. Although the deadline has been extended until February 6, lakhs of quintals of soybean are still lying unsold at farmers' homes. With already low prices, closing procurement centres will force farmers to sell at whatever rate they get, leading to heavy losses. The BJP-led government had promised Rs 6,000 per quintal for soyabean during the Maharashtra Assembly election campaign, but it has failed to deliver on this commitment.
Moreover, farmers have not yet received payments for the soyabean already procured. The situation with paddy and cotton is equally grim—paddy is being bought at lower prices, and cotton farmers are also struggling. The BJP alliance government is betraying farmers, said Patole.