Punjab farmers, millers back ethanol blending as maize demand fuels income
Punjab farmers and rice millers backed India’s ethanol blending programme, saying it has created a reliable market for maize, improved farmer incomes, and encouraged crop diversification away from paddy. They warned that slowing the programme would reduce maize demand and adversely affect growers who shifted cultivation.
CHANDIGARH: Punjab’s farmers and millers have thrown their weight behind the Centre’s ethanol blending programme, warning that any slowdown could hit maize growers who have come to depend on ethanol plants as a steady buyer for their crop.
The push comes as a political row over the E20 blending policy intensifies, with farmers cautioning that scaling back the programme would shrink demand for maize and hurt cultivators who switched to the crop banking on ethanol procurement.
Rajinder Salwan, president of the Amritsar Rice Millers Association, said the scheme has benefited both ends of the trade — easing pressure on millers while giving farmers a better deal, even as Punjab’s rural economy continues to lean heavily on paddy.
For growers, the change has been direct. Jagroop Singh, a small farmer from Bhurli village, said maize prices were poor until ethanol mills began buying the crop, and called for the government to keep expanding the programme.
Jagjit Singh, who farms maize on four to five acres, said he moved away from wheat after ethanol demand pushed up prices, helping him cover household costs despite the extra labour maize demands. His appeal was blunt: don’t restrict maize cultivation, and don’t let the ethanol programme slow down.
Farmer representatives said the scheme has given Punjab’s maize growers a dependable market for the first time, nudging the state away from its paddy-heavy cropping pattern. A rollback, they argued, would penalise farmers who diversified precisely because ethanol producers created new demand.
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Source : The Times Of India
