In a bid to encourage crop persification in the state by ensuring assured marketing mechanism for Maize crop, the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today impressed upon the Union Minister for Food Supply and Consumer Affairs Ram Vilas Paswan to direct any of the central agencies, including FCI, NAFED etc. to procure maize from the state. In a letter to Mr. Paswan, the Chief Minister apprised him that owing to low production risk and assured marketing of wheat and rice, about 80% of the arable area in the state came under these two crops adding that since long, this cropping system has continued yielding a high growth in agriculture production and farm incomes. He said that the total production of wheat and paddy rose to 17.5 million tons and 16.9 million tons respectively in 2013-14 due to which the state has been contributing about 30-40% food grains to the central pool to ensure the food security of the Nation. However Mr. Badal said that the production potential of the available technology of these crops has almost been fully exploited and there was now near stagnation in growth and real farm incomes.
The Chief Minister apprised Mr. Paswan that for improving farm income, persification of agriculture along with value addition of produce was essential for which state Agriculture Department has identified Maize, Cotton, agro-forestry and pulses as alternative crops to break the rotation of wheat and paddy, making agriculture not only more sustainable but also environment friendly. He said that under its flagship program of crop perfsication, the state government has decided to increase area under Maize to over five lakh hectares in the next 3-5 years, reducing the area under rice cultivation. However, Mr. Badal said that such a target would be difficult to achieve unless Government of India (GoI) decides to procure maize at a minimum support price from the farmers.
The Chief Minister informed Mr. Paswan that he had taken up the matter with the Ministry of Agriculture, GoI, but it was gathered from them that the Agriculture Ministry announces MSP of Maize every year and the current MSP of Maize was Rs.1350/- per quintal. However, he bemoaned that none of the Agencies of the GoI had ever entered Punjab market to procure Maize at such a price, as a result of which the farmers of state were left at the mercy of the private traders and were thus exploited. Mr. Badal also said that the Ministry of Agriculture, has observed that the Ministry of Food and Civil Supplies should procure Maize at MSP as it was one of the important food crops. "This initiative can be taken only with your intervention as apprehensions and hesitations at the level of officials will never allow the procurement of Maize at MSP declared by the GoI" he added.