Government orders mandatory maize procurement by distilleries from December 1
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has directed distilleries to mandatorily purchase maize from farmers, announcing that the procurement process will begin on December 1. The move comes as a relief to maize growers who have been reeling under steep price drops and have been demanding government intervention for weeks.
According to the order issued by the Department of Cooperation, the Karnataka State Cooperative Marketing Federation (KSCMF) will procure maize directly from farmers and supply it to five distilleries located across three districts of North Karnataka.
These distilleries require 44,892 metric tonnes (MT) of maize for grain-based ethanol production during the first quarter—until January 26, 2026. Of this, 50% (22,446 MT) must be sourced exclusively from farmers through Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) or APMC-based cooperative societies.
Government intervention after farmer distress:
Maize farmers have been expressing severe distress due to falling market prices and had staged protests seeking higher purchase rates. Following this, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah chaired a high-level meeting to address the issue.
Based on the decisions taken in that meeting, the Cooperation Department has now issued detailed guidelines specifying the procurement system, the designated distilleries, the purchasing societies, and a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
The department said that farmer registration will begin on Monday, followed by simultaneous registration and procurement after three days. District Commissioners, Excise Superintendents, and District Registrars of Cooperative Societies have been instructed to oversee the entire operation to prevent lapses.
Key instructions issued:
- The NEML (NCDEX e-Markets Ltd.) platform will manage the software integration for procurement.
- Registration must be carried out for three days starting December 1 on the Fruits portal, with Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) enabled for payments.
- After the initial registration window, both registration and procurement must continue simultaneously.
- Each farmer can sell up to 5 quintals of maize at the government-approved support price of ₹2,400 per quintal.
- The KSCMF must transfer payments directly to farmers’ bank accounts within three days of receiving funds from the distilleries.
- If additional demand arises from grain-based or kakamb-based distilleries, the federation will extend procurement accordingly.
- All operational and software-related expenses of the procurement process will be reimbursed by the State Government.
The government’s decision is being viewed as a major support measure to stabilize maize prices, assure guaranteed procurement, and provide immediate financial relief to thousands of farmers across Karnataka.
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