Maharashtra farm crisis: Task force chief seeks PMO help to stop distress sale of cotton, soybean

Cotton growers in Maharashtra are facing serious problems due to bollworm attack and deaths due to pesticide poisoning. (Photo for representation)

Kishor Tiwari, chairman of the special task force constituted to tackle the agrarian crisis in Maharashtra, on Monday sought the intervention of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to stabilise prices of cotton and soybean so as to stop its distress sale by farmers.

Tiwari said main cash crops like cotton and soybean were being sold below Minimum Support Price (MSP) as the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) and NAFED had failed to address price-related issues.

Tiwari alleged that intervention of central agencies was too poor to stabilise the market prices of cotton and soybean, which has a record seven million hectares under cultivation in the farmer suicide-prone Vidarbha region.

Tiwari said he had asked the PMO for strong Exim policy changes for banning imported cotton lint and palm oil and put soybean cake DOC in MCDEX and NCDEX open trade, besides giving export subsidies to cotton and soybean traders in the country.

Earlier, the Maharashtra farm task force had welcomed the decision of Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to give a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal above the MSP of Rs 4,320 to the cotton growers in that state.

“We are asking Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to follow the footsteps of his Gujarat counterpart as cotton growers in the state too are going through a very bad phase. Cotton growers are facing serious problems due to bollworm attack and deaths due to pesticide poisoning,” Tiwari said. He also urged Fadnavis to start all procurement centres of CCI and marketing federation.