Farmers Benefiting From High Maize Production In North Telangana

There is high demand for maize in the undivided north Telangana districts of Nizamabad, Medak, Adilabad, Karimnagar, and Warangal districts.

Traders have been flocking to these districts to buy maize from farmers at their fields. They are offering ₹2,400 per quintal of maize, which farmers feel is better than the minimum support price (MSP) being offered by the state government.

Last year, maize had sold at ₹2,100 per quintal. El Nino has not adversely affected the growth of maize in north Telangana districts. Each farmer is getting around 35 quintals of maize from one acre of land.

Maize has high demand from those manufacturing poultry feed.

Farmers are drying their maize stalks on service roads along the Hyderabad-Nagpur National Highway in undivided Medak, Nizamabad, and Adilabad districts.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Shetty Mallesh, a farmer from Chepur village in Armoor mandal, said traders are picking up maize even with 17–18 per cent moisture content. This is against the preference of government agencies like Markfed, who insist on lower moisture of 14 per cent. Further, farmers have to bear the expenditure towards bags and unloading charges at the market yard, Mallesh stated.

D. Bhojamma, a woman farmer, said that the Bendore disease had adversely affected the yielding of maize during the present Kharif season. In view of this, she requested the state government to waive crop loans. Bajanna, another farmer, wanted the crop loan waiver extended to all farmers.

Traders from Gandhari in Kamareddy district and other areas are approaching farmers at their fields to purchase the maize. They are paying cash and moving the produce at their own cost.

Young farmer S. Ashok said though he has completed MBA course, he is spending time in his native Chepur village cultivating maize, taking care of the crop, and selling the produce. Ashok disclosed that due to high fertiliser usage, farmers are not consuming maize but are selling it to traders.