Amid the ongoing maize crisis in Karnataka, the State government has scheduled a meeting with distilleries and ethanol producers on Friday to address the situation. At the same time, it is also considering the purchase of one lakh tonnes of maize for the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), reported The Hindu.
Maize is one of the key raw materials used in ethanol production.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil while talking to presspersons at the post-Cabinet briefing said that the maize situation should not have escalated, noting that the state’s ethanol allocation have been reduced by the central government. He criticized the Centre for overlooking the challenges faced by farmers, particularly in relation to the reduced allocation for ethanol.
Patil further stated that the Cabinet had expressed serious concern over the maize farming crisis.
Stating that maize farmers had been affected on multiple fronts, Mr. Patil said that while ethanol allocation had come down, the maize procurement had fallen by 10 %. “Earlier, maize procurement was at 40%, which has been brought down to 30%. In fact, procurement rate should be raised to 50%,” he said.
