Centre–State blame game leaves Telangana soybean farmers in limbo

Farmers in Telangana are struggling as the Centre and State continue to trade charges over soybean procurement. BJP MLA Payal Shankar raised concerns about delays and strict quality norms, while Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao admitted that discoloured crops were being rejected by NAFED.

Hyderabad: As the State government and the Centre continue to trade charges over procurement of soybean, farmers in Telangana remain caught in a quandary.

BJP MLA from Adilabad Payal Shankar said that for the past two months soybean farmers in the district had been facing hardships due to delays in procurement. The farmers were spending sleepless nights as officials were insisting on Fair Average Quality (FAQ) norms, he said during Question Hour in the Assembly.

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“The Central government is prepared to bear 50 percent of the losses and procure the farmers’ stocks. The State government should also bear the remaining losses and procure stocks,” he said.

Admitting that the soya crop had become discoloured in Nizamabad and Adilabad districts, Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao said the crop had to be procured by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), which is a central government agency.

“The issue has been raised with the Union government, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi. If the Central government is prepared to procure the drenched soya crops, the State government would facilitate the exercise,” Nageswara Rao said.

He said that 43,000 metric tonnes had already been procured and another 25,000 metric tonnes would also be procured. However, the discoloured crop was not being accepted by NAFED. Further, the stocks procured by the State government were being returned, he said, adding that BJP MLAs should take up the issue with the Central government, while the State government would extend all support.

Replying to a separate question on the scarcity of urea raised by Congress MLA Madan Mohan Rao, the Agriculture Minister claimed there was no shortage of urea in the State.

“Last year, due to the delay in supply by the Central government, there was some shortage during the Kharif season. This Rabi season, against average sales of three lakh tonnes, already four lakh tonnes have been sold. An additional two lakh tonnes are available,” Nageswara Rao said.