Former Rajya Sabha member Y. Sivaji has asked the State government to come to the rescue of chilli farmers using its Price Stabilisation Fund, Ruthy Bandhu Scheme, and market cess.
Dr. Sivaji in a statement here on Thursday said that chilli farmers were facing severe problems due to lockdown.
The crop was ripe for harvest, but no manpower was available to do it. The largest chilli market in the world at Guntur was shut down in the wake of spread of coronovirus.
Chilli was sown in 3.2 lakh acres and farmers had spent huge amounts. Produce worth ₹3,250 crore was stuck with the farmers. Farmers usually stored the produce in 150 cold storages in the area, but some technical problems had popped up, Dr. Sivaji said.
Two financial institutions that extended loans to chilli farmers had stopped the facility. The National Bulk Handling Corporation Ltd and the Star Agri Warehousing and Collateral Management Corporation Ltd. have stopped extending security collateral to chilli farmers in the wake of lockdown.
Unless the government prevailed on these two institutions, the chilli farmers would be left in the lurch, Dr. Sivaji said.
He said farmers were being forced to make distress sales at ₹5,000 a quintal.
