Andhra Pradesh : Farmers in distress as govt. failed to ensure MSP for crops, alleges YSRCP
YSR Congress Party accused the NDA government of failing to ensure MSP for maize, forcing farmers to sell below cost. Declining procurement, poor compensation, and price crashes across crops have intensified agrarian distress in Andhra Pradesh.
YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) spokesperson K. Anil Kumar has accused the NDA government of pushing farmers into distress by failing to ensure Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their crops, particularly maize.
Addressing the media at the party’s central office in Tadepalli on Tuesday, Mr. Anil Kumar said maize farmers were reeling under severe losses due to absence of remunerative prices.
Alleging that the government neglected farmers and failed to honour its pre-election promises, the former MLA said assurances such as creation of a Price Stabilisation Fund were abandoned.
While the cost of maize cultivation stood at ₹2,000 to ₹2,200 per quintal, farmers were being forced to sell the produce for ₹1,400 to ₹1,600 per quintal. “Despite the MSP being fixed at ₹2,400 per quintal, farmers are unable to realise even basic returns,” he said.
Citing official figures, he said maize procurement through Markfed stood at 4.17 lakh tonnes in 2019–20, 3.06 lakh tonnes in 2020–21, and 73,302 tonnes in 2022–23, which helped prevent price crash.
He also criticised the government for failing to provide compensation for crop losses caused by cyclones, which affected nearly 15 lakh acres. Tenant farmers, he said, were completely ignored. Even input subsidies were not adequately given, he added.
Mr. Anil Kumar said that the situation was not limited to maize, but extended to crops such as Bengal gram, banana, coconut, red gram, green gram, cotton, and tomato. “The price of tomato plummeted to as low as ₹ 2 per kg, reflecting the deepening crisis in the agricultural sector,” he said.
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Source : The Hindu
