The ruling coalition only managed to secure 17 of the 48 parliamentary seats in the state.

Mumbai: In a move to address the discontent of soybean farmers ahead of the upcoming assembly elections, the Maharashtra government has announced the opening of procurement centres for soybean for the first time. The centres will offer a minimum support price (MSP) of ₹4,892 per quintal. However, both farmers and industry experts remain skeptical about whether this initiative will significantly improve the prices farmers receive for their crops.

While sugarcane and onions have typically held political importance in Maharashtra, soybean emerged as the largest crop in this year’s kharif season, covering 5,152,251 hectares—34.9% of the total cultivated area during the fall harvest. Despite being the second-largest soybean producer in India, farmers in Maharashtra are currently facing financial strain. The market price for soybean hovers around ₹4,300 per quintal, which is below both the earlier MSP of ₹4,600 and the new proposed rate.

Discontent among soybean farmers was evident during the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, where low prices likely influenced them to vote against Mahayuti alliance candidates. The ruling coalition only managed to secure 17 of the 48 parliamentary seats in the state.

While farmers across western and northern Maharashtra grow soybean, about 80% of the state’s soybean cultivation is concentrated in the Marathwada and western Vidarbha regions, which hold 76 of the 288 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly. Soybean farmers could also influence election results in other areas of the state.

In response to these dynamics, the Mahayuti government plans to set up procurement centres to stabilize the market price. The state agriculture department believes that introducing an MSP of ₹4,892 per quintal could help raise market prices. A meeting led by State Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde is scheduled for Thursday to finalize the procurement system's structure and implementation details.