In a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah (CM) on Friday, ethanol-producing companies agreed to follow the government’s directives and purchase maize as per the Minimum Support Price (MSP), reported Deccan Herald.
The meeting, which included Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H. K. Patil, Agriculture Minister N. Chaluvarayaswamy, and Excise Minister R. B. Thimmapur, focused on addressing the challenges faced by farmers. The government urged companies to begin purchasing maize immediately to help ease the financial strain on farmers.
During the meeting, the companies outlined their challenges, noting that the cost of producing ethanol is higher than its selling price, which complicates their ability to procure maize at the MSP, reported Deccan Herald.
Recently, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting the fall in maize prices in the state and stating that the slump has led to distress among farmers.
In the letter written on Friday, Siddaramaiah stated that Karnataka cultivated maize on more than 17.94 lakh hectares this Kharif season and is expecting a tentative production of over 54.74 lakh metric tonnes. Although this should have been an opportunity for prosperity, current market conditions have turned it into a crisis.
