HYDERABAD

Minister for Agriculture Tummala Nageswara Rao asked Markfed authorities carrying out the procurement exercise of maize and jowar under the price support scheme to speed up purchase of maize by addressing issues such as shortage of gunny sacks, storage space (godowns), hamalis and transportation.

The Minister stated on Friday that maize cultivation had increased phenomenally in the 2025-26 Rabi season and the yield was also considerably high at 26.57 quintals per acre. Following the refusal of the Centre to procure maize in Telangana this season, the State government has decided to procure at least 14.9 lakh tonnes and of it 6.74 lakh tonnes has been procured till date.

The quantity of maize procured is from 1.22 lakh farmers and the value of procurement is ₹1,650 crore. Procurement of 14.9 lakh tonnes would require about ₹4,000 crore at the minimum support price of ₹2,400 per acre. The Minister stated that the State government had decided to continue procurement even in the absence of any cooperation from the Centre. He said special officers were also appointed combined district-wise to oversee the procurement exercise.

According to officials of the Agriculture department, maize is cultivated in 16,36,730 acres and the production is estimated at 43,48,791.6 tonnes at 26.57 quintals per acre. Similarly, jowar is raised in 4,03,400 acres and the estimated production is 4,03,400 tonnes at an average 10 quintals per acre. The yield is estimated at 15 to 20 quintals per acre in irrigated areas and 8 to 12 quintals per acre in the rain-fed areas.

The MSP fixed for jowar by the Centre is ₹3,699 per quintal for hybrid varieties and ₹3,749 per quintal for ‘maldandi’ variety.