Price crash: CM Siddaramaiah urges PM Modi to direct central agencies to procure grains under MSP

Bengaluru: In the wake of a price crash for maize and green gram in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a direction to national agencies, like NAFED, FCI and NCCF, to purchase these grains at a minimum support price (MSP) to protect farmers.

Karnataka has cultivated maize in over 17.94 lakh hectares and green gram in over 4.16 lakh hectares this Kharif season, Siddaramaiah said.

He added that the state is tentatively expecting a production of over 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,” Siddaramaiah said. 

The chief minister 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 dropped to Rs 1,600-1,800 per MT for maize and around Rs 5,400 per MT for green gram.

The chief minister 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.

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