MOISTURE STRESS, MOUNTING LOSSES: Rain gap forces soybean farmers to destroy standing crop
“We are witnessing stunted growth in soybean crops across 21 districts. Laxmikant Kauthkar, an Akola-based grower and agricultural activist from Vidarbha, noted that the plants had completely stopped developing after the soil lost its moisture. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Pune | Silver Rate in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune | Petrol Price in Pune | Diesel Price in Pune | CNG Price in Pune | LPG Price in Pune Stay updated with the latest Pune news.
The crop has failed, and we will not even recover the money spent on fertilizers and other inputs,” said Pandit Badole, a soybean farmer from Gholasgaon village in Akkalkot tehsil. If there is no rain now, there is no point in spending more money on a crop that is drying up,” said a farmer from Gunj Budruk village in the Ghansawangi tehsil of Jalna district. “We are being forced to destroy the crop,” he said. Even if it rains now, it will only benefit the crops that were sown late,” a senior official from the state agriculture department said. Insurance and compensation mechanisms must respond with urgency,” said Nagpur-based farmer activist Vijay Jawandhia.
Pune: A prolonged break in monsoon has pushed soybean farmers across Maharashtra into deep distress, with many now running tractors over their own standing crops instead of harvesting them. After an initially promising start to the kharif season, a long dry spell left soybean fields under severe moisture stress just as the crops required consistent rainfall. With little chance of recovery, farmers in parts of Solapur began plowing under their fields—a devastating practice that has since spread to the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions as the rain deficit deepens. For these farmers, the tractor, which is normally a symbol of progress, has become an emblem of loss. “It is extremely painful to run a tractor over five acres of soybean that we had nurtured for months. He added that the tractor is increasingly becoming a symbol of distress across the state’s soybean belt, as it is now being used to flatten crops rather than harvest them. Badole’s desperate decision is now being repeated by soybean growers across Maharashtra as the prolonged dry spell erodes any hope of salvaging the harvest or recovering input costs. “We have spent months working and have borrowed money for cultivation. The concern is particularly severe for rain-fed farmers who have little to no capacity to provide protective irrigation. This will certainly affect the overall harvest and, consequently, the local economy. Experts emphasized that the government must not wait until the official harvest season to assess the damage. Download the TOI App.
“The administration needs to document the losses before the physical evidence disappears.
Bapu Pawar, a farmer from Mhatrewadi in Dharashiv, recently stated that growers are spending around ₹25,000 to ₹30,000 per acre on soybean, and the prolonged dry spell has left almost zero possibility of recovering the cost of cultivation.
The prolonged dry spell has had a direct bearing on soybean productivity, according to experts. “Farmers will not only lose the value of the crop but also their entire investment in seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, labor, and land preparation,” an agricultural economist stated. “Soybean needs adequate soil moisture during the flowering and pod formation stages. If the dry spell continues during these critical phases, the crop may remain green in some fields, but its yield potential will be severely compromised,” explained soybean scientist Milind Deshmukh. Experts warned that the crisis could ripple far beyond individual farms if a substantial portion of the soybean crop fails. Soybean plays a vital role in the rural economy of Maharashtra’s primary agricultural districts. A poor harvest translates to lower income for farmers and reduced business for local traders and small enterprises that depend on the kharif season. The impact could turn severe in villages where farmers borrowed heavily to finance their cultivation. “Once crop income plummets, the first casualty is repayment capacity. Farmers will postpone purchases, slash spending, and may be forced to borrow again just to finance the next crop cycle. This can easily turn a localized crop loss into a broader rural debt crisis,” an expert warned. In response, farmer organizations have demanded immediate crop-loss assessments ( panchnamas ), expedited crop insurance payouts, and direct government compensation. They have urged the administration to prepare for a wider agricultural crisis if rainfall remains inadequate.