Farmers meet Shivraj Chouhan, demand agri reforms with focus on income, market access and ethanol policy
The All India Kisan Coordination Committee met Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, calling for wide-ranging reforms in India’s agricultural policy aimed at improving farmers’ incomes, expanding market access and accelerating crop diversification.
They submitted a memorandum and sought a comprehensive National Agricultural Policy centered on remunerative prices, competitive markets, modern technology, and greater freedom of choice for farmers. The farmers’ body said India’s ethanol blending programme is a positive initiative for energy security and reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels, but argued that its benefits must directly reach farmers. It urged the government to promote maize, sugarcane, sorghum, crop residues, and other low-water feedstocks in water-stressed regions instead of further incentivizing paddy cultivation.
The committee also called for an independent scientific assessment of the E20 fuel program. The memorandum raised concerns over the sale of Food Corporation of India (FCI) rice to ethanol distilleries at prices significantly below procurement cost.
It noted that around 63.5 lakh tonnes of rice were supplied to ethanol plants between June 2025 and June 2026 at ₹2,250-2,320 per quintal, compared to FCI’s acquisition cost of over ₹3,700 per quintal and below the MSP for maize. According to the committee, such pricing could divert demand away from maize and other ethanol feedstocks. It demanded MSP-linked procurement or price support for maize and sugarcane growers before large quantities of FCI rice are released to distilleries. It also sought a stable five-year ethanol feedstock pricing policy and an aggressive public communication campaign to counter what it described as a negative narrative surrounding ethanol-blended fuels.
The committee said Minimum Support Price (MSP) should continue as an essential safety net but argued that farmers must also have the freedom to sell their produce wherever they receive better prices. It called for strengthening the electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) by introducing common quality standards, reliable assaying systems, interstate logistics, dispute resolution mechanisms, and unified trader licensing. Recognising the role played by farmers in Punjab and Haryana in ensuring India’s food security, the memorandum also sought a Centre-State agricultural transition package to help the two states move beyond the wheat-paddy production cycle.
The proposed package includes restructuring of distressed institutional farm loans, interest relief, assured MSP-backed marketing for maize, pulses, and oilseeds, income protection for farmers shifting away from paddy, investment in processing and storage infrastructure, promotion of horticulture and livestock, expansion of micro-irrigation, and restoration of canal irrigation systems.
The committee argued that such support would recognize the ecological and financial costs borne by farmers who contributed to the country’s food security over several decades.
