On ethanol push, farmers bring record area under maize this kharif season

Corn (maize) seems to be the newfound love of the Indian farmer this kharif season. With the government’s push for higher ethanol blending and expansion of feedstock, farmers have planted a record area under corn in the ongoing kharif cropping season.
Maize acreages are up by 5.31 per cent at 87.26 lakh hectares (lh) till September 6 compared with 82.86 lh a year ago, with the major growth coming from States such as Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
In Maharashtra, the area under corn has increased by 23 per cent while in Madhya Pradesh, the area has gone up by 16 per cent.
Other major producing States such as Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, among others, have witnessed a marginal increase. This is even as several States such as Telangana and Odisha witnessed a marginal decline.
“Kharif maize area is at a record this year. The condition of the crop, which is in the maturing stages, looks good. We are expecting the yield to be better this year on good rain,” said Hanuman Sahay Jat, Director of the ICARIndian Institute of Maize Research in Ludhiana.
FAW MENACE
With prices ruling above the minimum support price (MSP) for a major part of last year, farmers have taken to planting maize, expanding the acreage, Jat said. IIMR, he said, was creating awareness among farmers on growing more corn in the context of the higher ethanol blending targets set by the government.
Though farmers faced the problem of fall army worm (FAW) in the early stages of the maize cropping cycle this year, they have largely overcome the challenge by managing the pest, Jat said. The Centre has announced a minimum support price (MSP) of ₹2,225 per quintal against ₹2,090 per quintal last year.
The market prices of maize are hovering above MSP levels and in the range of ₹2,4002,500 levels across various markets on strong demand.
“Spurred by demand from the ethanol industry, maize has become a new favourite of farmers across India resulting in a significant surge in the area across growing areas in kharif 2024. The E20 blending targets will continue to generate demand for maize as a prime feedstock for maizebased distilleries, which have sprung up in all nooks and corners of India, showing a path of prosperity for farmers who can grow this magical crop in three seasons in all 15 agroclimatic zones,” said Bhagirath Chaudhary, Director of the South Asia Biotechnology Centre in Jodhpur.
Source: Pressreader