JAGTIAL: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has become somewhat of a hero among maize cultivators of Jagtial. Ever since the AP CM had decided to provide Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 1,850 per quintal for maize, Jagan’s posters started dotting the villages of Jagtial district. The reason? Maize farmers in the district are demanding procurement centres for their crops.
Farmers in Jagtial are selling maize at Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500 per quintal while their counterparts in AP get an MSP of Rs 1,850 per quintal. Farmer groups on social media are abuzz with pictures of ‘Jagan anna’ and his MSP for maize.
They say KCR will understand their grievances, and set up procurement centres for maize. Due to the lack of procurement centres, farmers, who were cultivating maize, have switched to another crop. “Many farmers have sold out about 30 per cent of the produce due to the confusion about procurement centres”, said Rythu Vedika district president Pannala Thirupathi Reddy.
More farmers are hesitating to grow maize this year. According to Agriculture Department data, presently, maize is cultivated across around 6,000 acres while last year, it was cultivated on 25,000 acres. For each acre, the maize yield is 2,600 quintals.
