Good returns may push up AP maize output by 42%

Maize production in Andhra Pradesh in the 2006-07 rabi season is estimated to rise 42 per cent, fuelled by better returns for farmers in the open market. Besides, many maize-based ethanol units coming up across the state are set to further increase the acreage of the crop in the next season.

The poultry industry here estimated the state's rabi maize crop to be around 12 lakh tonne against the last year's rabi crop of 8.45 lakh tonne, A 42 per cent increase, said G Bucha Rao, a spokesperson for the industry. The average yield per hectare was expected to be about 30 quintal, he added.

The local poultry industry consumed 75 per cent of the crop produced in the state, with the balance demand meeting the needs of other states and the starch industry. Many big maize-based ethanol units under construction in Hyderabad, Kakinada, Karimnagar and Nizamabad had entered into contract with maize growers, promising better returns, and this would lead to a sudden increase in maize acreage in the next season, he said.

Farmers had stopped selling to the government, as the open market price for maize, which had remained steady at Rs 700 a quintal, was over and above the minimum support price (MSP). This would assure farmers a net profit of about Rs 9,000 a hectare against the cost of production at Rs 12,000 a hectare, Rao added.

Maize was sown in 2.11 lakh hectare in the current rabi season in the state as against the normal 1.36 lakh hectare and the last year's 1.83 lakh hectare.

The acreage had gone up due to the efforts of the agriculture department in persuading farmers to go in for maize cultivation on a large scale, said Rushyendranath, additional director, crops, state agricultural department.

The crop was sown over 98,349 hectare in the nine districts of coastal Andhra Pradesh (73,357 hectare last year), 6,214 hectare in the four Rayalaseema districts (3,823 hectare) and 1,06,374 hectare in the nine Telangana districts (1,06,302 hectare).

Excepting some Telangana districts, the crop area has increased in all the districts. Karimnagar tops the acreage list among the districts with 50,680 hectare (41,147 hectare last year).

The acreage in Guntur is 32,126 hectare (20,872 hectare last year), 27,907 hectare (23,857) in West Godavari , 20,904 hectare (21,918) in Warangal, 12,557 hectare (9,711) in Khammam, 3,053 hectare (2,242) in Anantapur, 10,802 hectare (4,823) in Krishna, 9,320 hectare (5,779) in East Godavari and 12,488 hectare (4,784) in Srikakulam.