Karnataka govt permits poultry feed producers to buy maize from farmers
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has permitted poultry feed manufacturers to buy maize directly from farmers at MSP-linked prices for the 2025-26 Kharif season, aiming to ease procurement bottlenecks and support growers.
The order follows a proposal from the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services after consultations with poultry and livestock feed manufacturers. The government said the permission was being granted in view of the aspects detailed in the proposal.
According to the Commissioner's note to the government, the chief minister, at a meeting on December 1, asked manufacturers to directly purchase an estimated five lakh tonnes of maize from farmers, keeping farmers' welfare in mind.
Manufacturers conveyed that they were willing to source maize directly if quality suitable for poultry feed was ensured and advance payment requirements were kept low.
At a follow-up meeting on December 2, members of the Karnataka Poultry Farmers & Breeders Association (KPFBA) informed officials that current Minimum Support Price (MSP) - quality maize contains about 14 per cent moisture.
They stated that they would procure if maize with moisture not exceeding 12 per cent is supplied, and agreed to begin with an initial purchase of 5,000 tonnes along with a 20 per cent advance payment.
Based on these submissions, the state government authorised poultry feed manufacturers, through the Animal Husbandry Department, to buy maize directly from farmers at MSP-quality prices, the note said.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
