Farmers May Shift Away from Maize to Other Crops

09-Jun-2026 07:48 PM

New Delhi: Enthusiasm and interest among farmers regarding the cultivation of maize—a key member of the coarse cereals category—are likely to decline this time.

This is because wholesale market prices have remained well below the Minimum Support Price (MSP), denying farmers profitable returns; furthermore, maize saw the lowest hike in MSP among crops for the current Kharif season.

Farmers had shown immense interest in sowing maize during the 2025 Kharif season, causing the cultivated area to surge to a peak of 98.61 lakh hectares—significantly higher than the 2024 acreage and the estimated five-year average area for 2025. Thanks to largely favorable weather conditions, domestic production of this vital coarse cereal also soared to an all-time high of 550 lakh tonnes during the 2025-26 season, according to government estimates.

Due to massive production and limited demand from the ethanol industry, wholesale maize prices dropped well below the MSP (₹2,400 per quintal), yet the central government took no concrete steps to ensure farmers received the MSP rate. This has left farmers deeply disheartened. Moreover, the government raised the MSP for maize by a mere ₹10 per quintal for the 2026-27 season—a move viewed as both extremely disappointing and astonishing.

The normal average area for Kharif maize this year is estimated at 80.77 lakh hectares, though industry and trade circles doubt whether the actual acreage will even reach this level. That said, sowing has begun on a positive note; by June 5, 2026, the sown area had reached 38,000 hectares—an increase of 11,000 hectares over the 27,000 hectares recorded during the same period last year. Maize prices had risen somewhat recently due to disruptions in the harvesting of the Rabi crop in Bihar and strong demand from various states.