Madhya Pradesh revokes ban on soyabean seed sale outside state

Maharashtra receives around 8-10 lakh quintal of soyabean seeds from Madhya Pradesh every year.

Madhya Pradesh, which had imposed restrictions on the sale of soyabean seeds outside the state, has revoked its order following protests by the Maharashtra government.

The Maharashtra government had lodged a complaint directly with the Centre against the ban.

Dilip Zende, director, quality control, Department of Agriculture, Maharashtra, told FE that the order by the deputy director of agriculture, Indore and Ujjain was withdrawn following the Centre’s intervention.

Senior officials of the state government, including the agriculture secretary and commissioner, had asked the Centre to intervene and cancel the order, stating it is in contravention of the Seed Act, 1983.
Earlier this month, agriculture officers from Indore and Ujjain had issued letters, stopping the movement and sale of soyabean seed outside their jurisdiction. This decision was taken due to the possible crunch to be faced in the supply of seed in the upcoming kharif season.

After Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra is the biggest soyabean producing state in the country with farmers growing the oilseed in over 35-40 lakh hectares yearly.

The state requires at least 12 lakh quintal of soyabean for seed purposes annually.

Maharashtra receives around 8-10 lakh quintal of soyabean seeds from Madhya Pradesh every year.

Zende said that several seed companies in Maharashtra have their seed production centres in Madhya Pradesh, and orders for the seeds are placed well in advance. However, due to this sudden ban, nearly 50% of the orders were stuck in the state, he pointed out.