Marketing fed directed to purchase 10 lakh tonnes of maize: CM Siddaramaiah

Mysuru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said that the state government was taking all measures to support farmers, who are facing a crisis due to drop in the price of maize crop. “The Marketing Federation is directed to start procurement centres soon and buy 10 lakh tonnes of maize from the farmers.”

Speaking to media persons here, the CM said that a letter would be written to the Union government to stop importing maize, while urging them to purchase the same from Karnataka.

“I have told the Finance department secretary to hold a meeting of distillery owners urging them to purchase maize from farmers for ethanol production as per the rules. They have bought maize from some markets, violating the rules, when the rates were low. I have asked the Centre’s nodal agencies - National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd - to open maize procurement centres soon,” he said.

Siddaramaiah said that an MSP of Rs 2,400 per quintal had been fixed for maize, but the procurement centres were yet to be started. “So I held a meeting with the ministers and officials concerned in Bengaluru on Friday morning. The price of maize has dropped. We are expecting an estimated production of 55 lakh tonnes of maize this year in Karnataka. Despite production of maize in different states, including Karnataka, being high, the Union government is importing 70 lakh tonnes. It was not necessary. The farmers are protesting because maize is not purchased from them,” he said.

The CM said that they were writing to the Union government to change the FAQ (Fair Average Quality) related to green gram, as some crops are discoloured due to excess rain or rain at the time of harvest. A delegation will visit the officials of the Union government and urge them to increase the subsidy from the existing 4%.

The CM added that during his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, he discussed the issues faced by sugarcane growers of Karnataka, related to sugarcane price, ethanol, and fixing of MSP. “We have urged the Centre for relief funds under NDRF for crops affected in 12.54 lakh hectares due to rains, and are hopeful that the Centre will respond positively,” he added.