Hyderabad: Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao on Thursday wrote to Union Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Giriraj Singh, seeking urgent relaxation in procurement norms for soybean, maize, and cotton crops severely affected by recent cyclonic storms and erratic weather across the state.

The minister highlighted that soybean cultivation spanned 3,66,697 acres this season, with an average yield of 7.62 quintals per acre. However, unseasonal rains during harvest have led to discoloration and wrinkling of seeds, rendering the produce non-compliant with existing FAQ (Fair Average Quality) norms. He urged the Centre to issue special orders allowing NAFED and NCCF to procure soybeans under relaxed quality standards. On maize, the minister noted that the crop is being cultivated across 6.74 lakh acres, with an estimated production of 16.85 lakh metric tonnes. Despite the Centre’s MSP of Rs 2,400 per quintal, market prices have plummeted to Rs 1,959, prompting the state government to intervene. So far, 48,757 metric tonnes have been procured, benefiting 14,519 farmers. Rao requested the Union Agriculture Ministry to authorise NAFED and NCCF to procure the entire estimated maize yield under MSP.

Regarding cotton, the minister expressed concern over the Cotton Corporation of India’s (CCI) proposal to cap procurement at seven quintals per acre. He warned that this would severely impact farmers already struggling with the L1, L2 and spot booking systems. Given the damage caused by the Montha cyclone, he appealed to the Union Textiles Minister to relax moisture content norms and allow procurement based on the actual yield of 11.74 quintals per acre.

Tummala emphasised the urgent need for the Centre to act decisively to protect lakhs of small farmers facing crop losses and procurement hurdles. He added that the Chief Minister, currently in Delhi, has been requested to raise these concerns directly with Union Ministers.