In a bid to keep retail food inflation in check, the Union Government has extended lower import duties on edible oils till March 2025. The cheaper import is going to discourage the domestic oilseed prices and eventually the sowing. The oilseed that concerns the Vidarbha’s farmers the most is soyabean. Soyabean, a sought after kharif crop in Vidarbha, fetched the average price of 4,500/quintal in kharif harvest in November 2023 at Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), Nagpur. APMC website records support the opinion of farmers that the prices were even depressing than earlier two years. Despite this sowing of soyabean in Vidarbha hardly decreased. Farmers in Vidarbha are stuck on soyabean despite its unprofitability due to lack of options, especially the rainfed farmers. Increase in MSP is meagre every year, average productivity per acre of land has been plummeting and the profit farmer earns is poor.

 

But the farmers keep sowing it every year as there is a trustworthy procurement system in place for this crop, said Dr Santosh Gahukar, Senior Research Scientist, Oilseed Research Centre, Dr Punjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola. About 58% of the domestic consumption demand of edible oil in India is met with the imported oil. Out of all the imported edible oils, the share of soyabean oil is 29%. India imports soyabean oil from Argentina and Brazil. India imported USD 3 billion worth of soyabean oil from Argentina during the oil year 2022-23, as per the data of India Exim Bank. Dr Gahukar reminds that India was self-sufficient in edible oil in 1990. As the pulses and cereals rose in priorities, oilseeds got gradually ignored. Monoculture and crop deterioration spoiled oilseed harvest over the period in India and at the same time the cheap import of staple oils came in.

 

The way out for soyabean farmers of Vidarbha is crop diversification but it has the challenges that would need policy level interventions, said Dr R B Ghorade, Head - Agri Botany, Dr Punjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola. State Government is attracting the farmers towards millets. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde last year announced Rs 200 crore plan to boost millet cultivation in Maharashtra. Millets like Jowar, Bajra and Ragi are excellent to diversify into but cannot replace soyabean, believes both Dr Ghorade and Dr Gahukar. Soyabean is an easy and short duration crop. It requires less labour and most importantly has easily accessible market. On contrary, millets are highly prone to bird and animal attack. Even though millets are climate resilient, the harvest per acre at current MSPs is not compensating for the farmers facing poor income in soyabean, said the experts.