Maize, green gram price crash: CM demands Modi for MSP procurement, Joshi asks state to act

Bengaluru, Nov 22 (PTI) Pointing to the crash of procurement price of maize and green gram in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct national agencies like NAFED, FCI and NCCF to purchase these grains at MSP to protect the interests of farmers.

Responding to Siddaramaiah's letter written on Friday, Union minister for Food and Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs, Pralhad Joshi, questioned CM on why his government did not direct distilleries in the state to purchase maize at the support price fixed by the Centre.

In a letter to Modi, the Siddaramaiah has said, “I write to you with deep concern and a sense of urgency regarding the severe price crash in Maize and Green Gram (Moong), crops that sustain the livelihoods of lakhs of farmers in the state. The market prices have fallen far below the Minimum Support Price (MSP) declared by the Government of India, creating widespread distress among cultivators.” Siddaramaiah said Karnataka has cultivated Maize in over 17.94 lakh hectares and Green Gram in over 4.16 lakh hectares this Kharif season, and the State is tentatively expecting a production of more than 54.74 lakh metric tonnes of Maize and 1.983 lakh metric tonnes of Green Gram.

Though this should have been an opportunity for prosperity, the current market conditions have turned it into a crisis, he noted.

He pointed out that while the Centre fixed MSP at Rs 2,400 per MT for maize and Rs 28,768 per MT for green gram, the prevailing prices in Karnataka have dropped to Rs 1,600 to Rs 1,800 per MT for maize and around Rs 5,400 per MT for green gram.

Even the modal prices of the last three years were higher than MSP, but external pressures and supply-demand distortions have pushed prices to record lows, he said.

According to CM, Karnataka has a marketable surplus of 32 lakh MT of maize, far exceeding the absorptive capacity of local industries. Siddaramaiah urged PM Modi to direct NAFED, FCI and NCCF to begin MSP procurement immediately under the Price Support Scheme or another suitable mechanism.

He also sought measures to ensure Karnataka’s farmers benefit fairly from the ethanol supply chain, pointing out that the basic rate for maize-based ethanol is Rs 266.07 per litre with an added incentive of Rs 5.79 per litre.

The CM alleged that many ethanol plants are sourcing maize from middlemen instead of farmers.

The Union minister Pralhad Joshi, in a post on X, asked Siddaramaiah on why the State has not directed select distilleries to sign binding agreements with the National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India/ National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India for guaranteed procurement of maize for ethanol production.

These distilleries, which were licensed by the State Government, should have been directed to enter into formal agreements with NCCF/NAFED for assured purchase, which has not happened. The SOPs for the same were circulated among the stakeholders, Joshi said.

“Before pointing fingers, the CONgress Govt. in Karnataka must answer: Why has the Karnataka Govt not mandated that distilleries procure maize at MSP from farmers?” he questioned.

The power to enforce local procurement norms rests with the State, the Union minister said, adding if distilleries are buying below MSP, it is due to the absence of suitable directions from state government mandating these distilleries to buy at MSP.

Joshi alleged that farmers are paying the price for "this inaction".

He also charged that the claim of 70 LMT (Lakh Metric Tonne) maize imports by government of India this year “is completely a lie peddled by the CONgress Government”. PTI GMS GMS ADB