Karnataka : Farmers seek immediate maize procurement, Rs 3,000 per quintal
Farmers in Dharwad, under AIKKMS, protested outside the deputy commissioner’s office demanding immediate opening of maize procurement centres and a support price of Rs 3,000 per quintal. They said rains caused heavy losses, prices have crashed to Rs 1,500–1,600, and compensation hasn’t been released. Protesters also highlighted collapsing prices of other crops.
Dharwad: Farmers under the banner of AIKKMS staged a protest in front of the deputy commissioner’s office on Friday, urging the govt to immediately open maize procurement centres and fix the support price at Rs 3,000 per quintal.AIKKMS district president Deepa Dharwad said farmers have repeatedly appealed to both the state and Union govts to announce scientific and fair prices for all crops each year. Yet, she noted, maize — one of Dharwad district’s key crops — has once again failed to fetch a remunerative price.She explained that incessant rains have caused severe losses to growers. Despite the odds, many farmers resowed their fields multiple times and managed to harvest some yield. On average, a farmer spends Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per acre to produce around 20 quintals of maize.
While the crop fetched Rs 2,400–Rs 2,500 per quintal last year and earlier this year, prices have now plunged to Rs 1,500–Rs 1,600.”At these rates, farmers cannot even recover the cost of fertilisers and basic cultivation,” she said.Deepa added that yields have dropped due to heavy rains and that compensation for crop loss has still not been released. Many farmers who borrowed money for cultivation are now unable to repay their loans, pushing the agricultural sector deeper into crisis and driving farmer suicides.She pointed out that prices of other crops such as tur, green gram, cotton, onion, and soya have also collapsed. At the Amargol APMC recently, a quintal of onion was auctioned for a mere Rs 50 — an amount she said “mocks the very livelihood of farmers.” The poor price fixation mechanism, she alleged, doesn’t even cover transportation costs, exposing govt apathy.In light of these issues, the protesters demanded that the govt open maize procurement centres without delay and ensure a minimum price of Rs 3,000 per quintal.
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Source : The Times Of India
