HM Amit Shah assures sugar MSP hike, direct onion sourcing: CM Fadnavis

New Delhi, May 27 (SocialNews.XYZ) Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said that in a major development aimed at easing rural and agrarian distress in Maharashtra, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah has assured the state government of swift and favourable interventions to address key concerns of sugarcane and onion farmers.

Following a meeting in the national capital, CM Fadnavis, who led a high-level delegation, told reporters that the Central government would soon roll out concrete policy decisions regarding an upward revision in sugar’s Minimum Selling Price (MSP), expansion of ethanol quotas, restructuring of cooperative loans, and direct onion procurement from farmers.

Expressing satisfaction over the deliberations, CM Fadnavis said the Union Cooperation Minister fundamentally agreed with the state’s assessment that the MSP of sugar urgently requires an upward revision to sustain the cooperative ecosystem.

“Union Minister Amit Shah acknowledged the necessity of a price hike. The Centre has requested a formal regulatory price proposal from the state government, which has already been drafted and will be submitted immediately. The Centre has also agreed to significantly increase the state’s ethanol procurement quota, with a formal policy decision expected within the next two months,” he said.

Further, the Central government committed to jointly working with the state administration to formulate a mechanism for restructuring legacy loans of distressed sugar factories. The Centre has also approved the immediate release of pending interest subvention funds to ease the liquidity crunch, the Chief Minister said.

Addressing the persistent volatility in onion markets, CM Fadnavis announced structural reforms in procurement operations managed by central agencies such as NAFED and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation (NCCF).

“The Centre accepted Maharashtra’s demand that NAFED and NCCF must procure onions directly from farmers instead of purchasing through local traders or middlemen in wholesale markets. The state government has requested the Centre to increase its onion procurement target from the current 2 lakh tonnes to 10 lakh tonnes. A positive decision on this large-scale market intervention is expected,” he said.

“To protect domestic cultivation and check local shortages, the Centre accepted the state’s proposal to levy a heavy export surcharge on onion seeds, which are currently being exported in large quantities,” CM Fadnavis said.

He added that while the procurement price was recently increased to Rs 15.80 per kg, discussions were also held on mechanisms to raise it further.

The meeting also clarified that while restrictions exist on onion seed exports, there is no ban on the export of commercial onions, he said.

Addressing frequent complaints from farmers that procurement agencies arbitrarily reject produce as “substandard” during manual grading, CM Fadnavis announced that grading would now be digitised and carried out through automated machinery to ensure transparency and fair pricing.

The Maharashtra delegation also submitted a comprehensive memorandum to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan highlighting the plight of Alphonso (Hapus) and other mango cultivators.

CM Fadnavis pointed out that stringent and impractical conditions imposed by crop insurance companies had deprived mango growers of legitimate compensation during climate-related disruptions.

In response, the Union Agriculture Minister assured the delegation that a dedicated meeting with insurance companies would be convened immediately to resolve these grievances and simplify norms for farmers.

Source: IANS