Maize farmers reap rich dividends

While cotton and paddy farmers are facing problems due to non-payment of minimum support price (MSP) in the State, the maize growers are happy as they are getting good price for their produce. unlike cotton and paddy farmers, maize growers need not wait for days in market yards for selling their yield as the traders are purchasing the produce within hours after its arrival in the market yards.

It should be pointed out here that Markfed has not opened procurement centres in some market yards. Low yields and huge demand for maize in poultry industry are some of the main reasons for the traders bidding the highest price for the produce, it is felt. A quintal of maize is fetching Rs 1,520 which is almost Rs 200 more than that of Rs 1,325 MSP, fixed by Markfed. On Thursday, traders purchased 80 bags of maize by paying Rs 1,475 a quintal in Karimnagar market yard wherein Markfed has not opened its centre. So far, 7,207 quintals crop was arrived to the market since August 1 and more is likely to arrive in the coming months, market committee sources said.

After cotton and paddy, maize was the highest cultivated crop in the district during Kharif. In the wake of continuous dry spell since the last two years, traditional paddy growers shifted to cotton, maize and other Irrigated Dry (ID) crops. According to agricultural department statistics, maize is being cultivated in more than 50,000 hectares as against the normal area of 56,090 hectares while cotton was sowed in 2,32,000 lakh hectares against the normal area of 2,33,596 hectares.

But paddy was germinated only in 1,04,050 hectares (57 percent area) as against the 1,82,453 hectares of normal area. Speaking to The Hans India, Telangana Rythu Sangham state vice-president V Venkat Reddy said that traders were paying highest price to maize only because of the huge demand for it in the poultry industry but not to protect the interests of farming community. Moreover, production was less than the demand in the market.

Though the traders were paying more than the MSP, farmers were not benefitted since the production cost has hiked number of times. The MSP announced by the both State and Central governments for various crops were not meeting the expenditure, which was spent by the farmers on cultivation, Venkat Reddy lamented and wanted the governments to provide remunerative price to farmers.

Raghu Paithari