Maize gains at cost of cotton and soyabean as ethanol gains traction
India’s 2025 kharif season shows maize gaining acreage at the expense of cotton and soybean, driven by rising ethanol demand. Farmers planted maize over 91.89 lakh ha (up 8.74%), while soybean and cotton acreage shrank. Government incentives, premium ethanol pricing, and distillery tie-ups are accelerating maize adoption.
The story of this kharif season is the gain of Maize at the expense of cotton and soyabean. Behind this growth of maize is the usage of the grain for production of ethanol which is essential for the fuel blending program of the central government.
The central government’s department of agriculture shows that farmers have taken maize over 91.89 lakh hectares as against the 83.15 lakh hectares of the last kharif. Maize area has grown by over 8.74 per cent– the largest growth of any crop this kharif. The growth of maize is synonymous with the decline in soyabean area- which has shrunk by 4.73 percent. Farmers have sown 119.51 lakh hectares of this kharif as compared to 124.24 lakh hectares of last kharif.
Similarly cotton area has shrunk from 110.49 lakh hectares to the present 106.96 lakh hectares.
Behind the growth lies the fast acceptance of maize as the feedstock for production of ethanol. Dilip Patil, co-chair of the Sugar Bioenergy Forum under the Indian Federation of Green Energy pointed out that the government is actively promoting maize as a feedstock. “The government is actively encouraging farmers to diversify from water-intensive crops like sugarcane to crops like maize for ethanol production. Maize consumes less water and its ethanol production yields a valuable co-product, Dried Distillers Grains with Soluble (DDGS), which is a high-protein animal feed, “he said.
This year, oil marketing companies have floated tenders for ethanol procurement for the blending program, which was to be produced with maize as the feedstock. Also ethanol, produced from maize and other grains as feedstock has been given a premium price over ethanol produced from sugar or molasses. Maize has come to be the most favoured raw material, especially in North India. Many distilleries have entered agreements with farmers to directly procure maize from them. All this has led to maize being the crop of the choice for farmers.
Sanjeev Asthana, president of the Solvent and Extractors Association (SEA) , the edible oil body of the country, commented on the decline in edible oil seeds acreage in the kharif. “As of 15 August 2025, kharif oilseed sowing stands at 178.64 lakh hectares, down 6.74 lakh ha from last year’s final acreage of 185.38 lakh ha. The decline reflects a shift in farmer preference toward competing crops such as maize, driven by ethanol and feed demand. While castor seed has shown modest gains, major crops such as soybean and groundnut have seen reductions, signalling the need to reinforce crop profitability and farmer confidence,” he said. Soyabean prices have been on the lower side for two consecutive years which has propelled many traditional growers to shift towards maize.
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Source : The Indian Express
