Maize prices in Davanagere have risen to as much as ₹2,850 a quintal after severe drought reduced cultivation, damaged standing crops and sharply cut arrivals at the district’s Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC). The market is now receiving only about 2,500 to 3,000 quintals a day, compared with an average of 10,000 quintals during the same period last year.
The maximum price for good-quality maize was around ₹2,200 a quintal last year. This year, prices have reached ₹2,700 to ₹2,850 a quintal, according to a report by Prajavani. On October 7, maize traded at a minimum of ₹1,856, a maximum of ₹2,739 and an average of ₹2,450 a quintal at the Davanagere APMC.
The fall in market supply reflects the scale of the production shock. Maize was cultivated across 1.20 lakh hectares in the district in 2025. This year, sowing took place on only 71,000 hectares because of inadequate rainfall. About half of the sown area was subsequently damaged, with some farmers shifting to ragi and other crops requiring less water.
Official market data cited in the report show that arrivals in September fell from 71,097 quintals in 2025 to 26,586 quintals this year. In October 2025, the market received 1,87,729 quintals. This year, only 25,173 quintals arrived between October 1 and 7.
S. Somashekar, assistant director of the APMC, said arrivals usually increase in September and October, including supplies from neighbouring districts. This year, however, harvesting has been limited because the crop failed in many areas. He said the reduced supply could put further upward pressure on prices.
The higher prices are not translating into stronger farm incomes for most growers because the drought has severely reduced yields. H.H. Raghavendra, a farmer from Asagodu village in Jagalur taluk, said only 15% to 20% of the area sown with maize may produce a harvest. In many cases, farmers may obtain only two to three quintals per acre, he said.
Raghavendra also said much of the maize reaching the market was of poor quality, with light or underdeveloped kernels. Crops grown with access to irrigation were producing harder, better-quality grain, while rain-fed fields had suffered from the prolonged dry conditions.
Trader Basavaraj of Doggalli said the drought had affected the APMC itself, leaving the market subdued because good-quality grain was not reaching it. The report said that a submission to the Central Government’s drought assessment team estimated that 75% of the maize sown in Davanagere district had been damaged.
Farmer leader B.M. Satish of Kolenahalli said farmers had sown maize after relying on early-season rainfall, but the crop dried up because of the severe rain deficit and intense heat. He demanded separate compensation for farmers who could not sow and for those who spent money on fertiliser and pesticides before losing their crop.
The situation has created a supply-and-income squeeze: limited arrivals are supporting higher prices, but the small quantities harvested and the poor grain quality are reducing the benefit to drought-affected farmers. The immediate official issue is compensation, while the APMC’s next reported arrivals and the government’s response to the drought assessment will determine how the market situation develops.
