The Centre has extended the procurement of soyabean in Maharashtra by 24 days (until February 24) and in Telangana by 15 days (until February 15) to protect farmers’ interests. Similarly, groundnut procurement in Gujarat has been extended by six days and in Karnataka by 25 days (both until February 15).
As much as 19.99 lakh tonnes (lt) of soyabean has been procured, benefiting 8,46,251 farmers, while 15.73 lt of groundnut has been purchased from 4,75,183 farmers until February 9, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.
- Also read: Maharashtra to set up permanent mechanism for soyabean procurement
The government last year approved the procurement of soyabean under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) at its Minimum Support Price (MSP) of ₹4,892 per quintal in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Telangana from the 2024-25 crop. Similarly, the Centre also allowed the procurement of groundnut under the PSS in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh at its MSP of ₹6,783 per quintal.
Under the PSS, the procurement of notified pulses, oilseeds, and copra conforming to the prescribed Fair Average Quality (FAQ) standards is undertaken by central nodal agencies such as NAFED and NCCF at the MSP, directly from pre-registered farmers through State-level agencies.
