Maha: Govt should purchase soybeans & other crops at guaranteed prices: Wadettiwar

Mumbai, Feb 8  Opposition Leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Thursday called for the government to establish purchasing centers for soybean crops and ensure farmers receive fair pricing for their products.
The source claimed that while soybean procurement is based on the global market, it should not be less than the minimum base price set by the central government, while other crops are being bought by traders at prices below the guaranteed price.
Taking into account the financial interests of the farmers, the state government should start a purchase center.
However, the Mahayuti coalition government in the state has forgotten about the farmers.
Wadettiwar argues that soybean farming, once considered a low-cost crop, has become unaffordable due to pest infestations, natural imbalances, increased wages, and high seed and medicine prices.
In that case, the farmers are in distress as the price is lower than the minimum base price.
The central government has set a low guaranteed soybean price, leading to farmers' expenses being uncovered. Traders are also buying soybeans at lower prices, despite the government's silence.
The guaranteed price of soybeans in 2022–2023 was fixed at Rs 4300 per quintal and Rs 4600 in 2023–2024. Considering the production cost of soybeans, this guarantee is low. There is no denying the fact that soybeans were purchased from all the traders at a much lower price than the guaranteed price, which was even below Rs 4,000. Soybean is getting a low rate of Rs 3800 per quintal in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar market committee and Rs 4100 per quintal in the Nagpur market committee.
Therefore, it has become difficult to meet the expenses of the farmers. Due to this, a lot of anger has arisen among the farmers about the government, and the farmers will teach a lesson to the government that is forcing the farmers to go to the country, he added.