Chhattisgarh maize farmers to get advance payment from govt for yield

The NACOF would be procuring maize from the farmers through the state-controlled Krishi Upaz Mandi for Rs 1760 a quintal

Chhattisgarh farmers will get advance payment for the maize that they sell to the government agency  - Indian National Farmers Produce, Processing and Retail Cooperative Association (NACOF) - at the minimum support price (MSP).

With a slight increase in acreage, Chhattisgarh had sown maize crop in 211,000 hectare in the kharif 2019 as against the previous year’s 193,000 hectares. The state is estimated to produce 508,000 tonnes of maize, the second-most sought after crop after paddy, produced mainly in the hilly terrains of Maoist-infested Bastar and Sarguja districts.

In all, 7352 maize producers had registered with societies to sell their produce and fetch MSP for the yield. NACOF will procure maize from farmers through the state-controlled Krishi Upaz Mandi for Rs 1760 a quintal. Each registered farmer will be eligible to sell 10 quintals of maize.

Chhattisgarh government had given its nod to NACOF for procuring maize from farmers across the state. The NACOF will pay the price to the farmers in advance, a state government spokesperson said, adding that the maize would be lifted from the mandi only after the money was transferred online to the account of seller.

The farmers in the Bastar region are keen on cultivating maize crop and the acreage has increased over the year. About 40 per cent of the state’s output comes from Kondagaon, Kanker and Bastar districts of the region. Maize cultivated by farmers in Bastar is exported to the US, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Vietnam, while tamarind is exported to Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Dubai.