Stop distress sale of cotton, soybean, task force chief to PMO

Kishor Tiwari, chairman of the special task force constituted to tackle agrarian crisis in Maharashtra, today sought intervention of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to stabilise prices of cotton and soybean so as to stop its distress sale by farmers.
Tiwari has urged the PMO for urgent intervention to address the distress sale of main cash crops cotton and soybean which is being sold below Minimum Support Price (MSP) as central agencies Cotton Corporationof India(CCI) and NAFEDhave failed to address price related issues.
Tiwari alleged that intervention of central agencies wastoo poor to stabilisethe marketpricesofcotton and soybeanwhich has a record seven million hectaresarea under cultivation in farm suicide prone region of Vidarbha in Maharashtra.

Tiwarisaid he has asked PMO for strong Exim policy changes for banning imported cotton lint and palmoil and put soybeancake DOC in MCDEX and NCDEXopentrade besides giving export subsidies to cotton and soybean traders in the country.
Earlier, Maharashtra farm task force had welcomed the decision ofGujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to give a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal above the MSP of Rs 4,320 to the cotton growers in that state.
"We are asking Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to follow the footsteps of his Gujarat counterpartas cotton growers in the state too are going through a very bad phase.

"Cotton growers are facing serious problems due to bollwormattack and deaths due to pesticide poisoning," said Tiwari.
Tiwari has urgedFadnavis to start all procurement centres of CCI andmarketing federation.