Days ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Union government has relaxed norms for the procurement of soya bean, The Hindu reported on Sunday.

Farmers in the state have been expressing anger at the low prices of oilseeds and the slow pace of government procurement, according to reports.

In an order on Friday, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare said that the norm during the last Kharif season, which allowed soya beans with a moisture content of less than 12% to be procured under the price support scheme, has been relaxed to permit a moisture content of up to 15%.

Under the price support scheme, the government procures agricultural produce at the declared minimum support price, ensuring that farmers receive a stable and profitable income.

A minimum support price is the guaranteed amount paid to farmers when their produce is purchased by the state.

The order on Friday, addressed to the chief secretaries of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan and Karnataka, said that the decision to relax the norms was based on “representations received”.

An agricultural risis linked to soya bean, a key cash crop in Maharashtra, has sparked unrest among farmers due to its prices in the open market being lower than the minimum support price.

Farmers cultivate the oilseed on more than 50 lakh hectares of land in Maharashtra. However, the market prices remain well below the minimum support price of Rs 4,892 per quintal.

Maharashtra has the largest number of procurement agencies for the crop under the price support scheme, The Indian Express reported.

However, the process has been slow, with only 3,887.93 tonnes of the targeted 13.08 lakh tonnes procured. Government agencies attribute the low procurement rates to the high moisture content in the soya bean at 15%, while farmers argue that the agencies lack the necessary infrastructure and capacity for large-scale procurement.

Ahead of the elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised monetary aid to soya bean farmers during a campaign rally in Vidarbha, according to The Indian Express. The Opposition Congress also offered to set a minimum support price of Rs 7,000 per quintal of soya bean if voted to power.

Polling for the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly will take place in a single phase on November 20. The counting of votes will take place on November 23, alongside that of the Jharkhand elections.

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