Farmers under the banner of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) have decided to take up a sustained campaign to press for a fair price for the produce.
Remunerative price for almost all crops had remained elusive. The coronavirus-induced lockdown had only aggravated the problem of peasants further, AIKSCC State co-convenor K.V.V. Prasad told a media conference here on Friday.
The Centre should announce a special financial package for farmers, including waiver of interest on crop loan and fresh credit to raise kharif crop, he said.
Referring to a 2017 NABARD survey showing the high levels of inter-State income inequality among agricultural households, AIKSCC Prakasam district convenor Ch. Ranga Rao said Andhra Pradesh stood at the lowest level.
“Will Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy take it as a challenge and ensure the State moves up on the ladder?” he asked.
Bengal gram growers, who were saddled with previous years’ stocks in cold storage units, were clueless about liquidating them. The bonus price of ₹1,500 per quintal announced by the State government had been given only to 8,000 of the 25,000 growers in the district.
‘Gloomy scenario’
Virginia Tobacco Farmers Welfare Association general secretary Ch. Seshaiah said tobacco growers were at their wits’ end as the exporters shied away from the auction centres during the truncated auctions when lockdown was in force. It was high time the Centre came to the rescue of the growers who held with them over 80% of the produce as lockdown put paid to their hopes of getting a fair price.
Vegetable growers were in an unenvious position as the market price for the perishable goods crashed due to reduced demand. Each farmer was forced to incur a loss of ₹1 to 1.50 lakh per acre, lamented Congress Party farmers wing district president V. Rajagopala Reddy.
Social forestry farmers were not able to get even half of the price arrived at a meeting with paper mills at the behest of the State Agriculture Marketing department, said Social Forestry Growers Association president V. Hanuma Reddy.
