While farmers are increasingly turning towards maize cultivation, this time it has become difficult even to get the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for maize. In most markets, maize prices are running significantly below the MSP, causing heavy losses for farmers. As a result, farmers are now waiting for government procurement.
With the boost to the ethanol blending program in recent years, farmers had started getting better prices for maize. This is why, instead of soybean and cotton, farmers chose to prioritize maize cultivation this year. In the current Kharif season of 2024-25, the area under maize cultivation has increased by around 12%, crossing 9.5 million hectares. However, this time maize prices have seen a decline. The reasons are believed to be the increased use of rice in ethanol production and a rise in maize output.
According to the Agriculture Ministry’s Agmarknet portal, in many markets of Madhya Pradesh — including Dewas, Harda, Khandwa, Khargone, Sehore, Shivpuri, Barwani, and Hoshangabad districts — maize is being sold at model prices of ₹1200 to ₹1400 per quintal, while the government has set the MSP at ₹2400 per quintal for 2025-26 Kharif marketing season. Farmers are being forced to sell their produce to traders at throwaway prices.
On October 15, the model price of maize in Khategaon market of Dewas district was ₹1200 per quintal, while in Harda district markets it was recorded at ₹1250 per quintal. In Khandwa, maize was sold at ₹1200 per quintal, while in Vidisha price for maize was ₹1400 prt quintal. In the Kolaras market of Shivpuri district, the price dropped as low as ₹1140 per quintal.
In Rajasthan, maize is being sold at model prices between ₹1500 and ₹1800 per quintal, while in most markets of Uttar Pradesh too, the model price has fallen below the MSP of ₹2400 per quintal. As a result, farmers are facing losses of ₹1000 to ₹1200 per quintal, making it hard even to recover their production costs.
Kedar Sirohi, president of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Kisan Cell, said that farmers grew maize in the hope of good prices. Even the central government has been promoting maize cultivation, but now that the prices have crashed, the government seems unconcerned. State government has not initiated any procurement of maize nor it has made any announcement regarding the price difference payment scheme (Bhavantar Yojana) for maize.
This year, due to excessive rainfall, both soybean and maize crops have been severely damaged. Now, the lack of MSP is dealing a double blow to farmers. This raises the question: despite the much-publicized ethanol blending program, why are farmers still not getting fair prices for maize? Has the ethanol program already provided all the benefits it possibly could?
Angered by the failure to receive MSP, farmers in Madhya Pradesh have begun protesting. They allege that traders are citing moisture content to further reduce prices by ₹1000 to ₹1100 per quintal. Frustrated farmers staged a roadblock on Indore Road in Khandwa on Wednesday.
Maize has become a major requirement for animal feed and biofuel industries. If farmers do not receive fair prices, they may switch to other crops in the next season, which would also impact these industries.
Source : Ruralvoice
