A farm crisis lost in political cacophony

IIt has been more than 10 days since farmers in Gadag district in north Karnataka started an indefinite agitation demanding a Minimum Support Price (MSP) of ₹ 3,000 per quintal for maize. Farmers in neighboring areas are also in rebellion against the Central and State governments due to the rapid fall in maize prices.

While the Center has fixed the MSP for maize at 2,400 Indian rupees per quintal, the prevailing price in Karnataka ranges from 1,600 to 1,800 Indian rupees per quintal. Prices, which started to fall in September, have fallen suddenly in the last two weeks.

The plight of farmers in Karnataka, among the country’s top maize-producing states, seems to be buried under the cacophony of “power-sharing formula” between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.

The protest by maize farmers comes at a time when the State government is yet to recover from crop-destroying floods. This was followed by a series of protests by sugarcane farmers demanding a Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of ₹3,500 per tonne for sugarcane. The state government recently managed to convince farmers to accept FRP of ₹3,300 per tonne.

The opposition BJP was quick to seize the opportunity to portray the ruling party’s stance as “anti-farmer”, just ahead of the winter session of the state legislature. In response, the Congress argued that the Union government’s intervention was vital in resolving both the maize and sugarcane problems. He mocked the opposition MPs of Karnataka for not having the courage to raise the issue with their own party leaders at the Centre.

Last week, Mr. Siddaramaiah wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to intervene in the purchase of maize and also green gram, which has seen a decline in prices. He said Mr. Modi should direct the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), the Food Corporation of India and the National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India (NCCF) to immediately start MSP procurement under the Price Support Scheme or any other appropriate mechanism. Mr. Siddaramaiah suggested that rising imports were also contributing to the crisis.

Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi responded by sending the ball back to the State court and insisting that the power to implement MSP or FRP lies with the State government. He also rubbished Mr. Siddaramaiah’s claims regarding imports, stating that it was only 0.5 lakh metric tonnes this fiscal.

One of the key issues that remains unaddressed amid the political blame game is the rapid expansion of maize cultivation in Karnataka. In Karnataka, it has replaced rain-fed crops such as maize, potatoes, cotton, groundnuts, ragi and sorghum. In 2023, the area under maize cultivation in the state was 10.3 lakh hectares. For the current year, up to July 5, the figure has increased to 13.98 lakh hectares from 12.20 lakh hectares in the same period last year.

According to market experts, many factors caused the price decline this year, such as supply-demand imbalance, decrease in exports due to the downward trend in global grain prices and related factors. Ethanol blending results in the production of large quantities of Distillers Dried Soluble Grain, which replaces traditional feed grains, which has been cited as another factor reducing corn demand in the livestock industry. Moreover, while Karnataka produces over 55 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of maize in kharif 2025, it has a marketable surplus of 32 lakh tonnes, which far exceeds the absorptive capacity of local industries. Adding to the problem was the additional stock available with distilleries purchased the previous year.

A positive development amid the crisis is Mr. Siddaramaiah’s promise to start government procurement under MSP. However, this has not yet become a government decision. He also wrote to distilleries in the state to register with NAFED and NCCF for ethanol production using corn.

Farmers who grow maize in Karnataka, mostly in central and northern regions, have demanded that both the State and the Center take action to find a long-term solution. This demand currently appears to have escaped the attention of both the ruling and Opposition party leaders.