Social forestry farmers state-level meet on Aug 13 in Ongole

Ongole: The Andhra Pradesh Social Forestry Farmers Association announced that they are organising a state-level meeting at Ranga Bhavan in Ongole on August 13 to discuss for the solution of problems being faced by the subabul, eucalyptus and casuarinas farmers from the nine districts in the state.

The association general secretary V Hanuma Reddy asked the farmers from all over the state to participate in the meeting and make it a grand success. Speaking to the media, Hanuma Reddy said that the social forestry farmers are losing about Rs 1,700 per ton for jamail and Rs 1,000 per ton for subabul for the last four years due to failure in the implementation of government orders at the ground level.

On the other side, due to the scanty rainfall, the trees are not grown as per the expectation and burnt due to the heat wave in some places, he explained. The association demanded that the government should provide a compensation of Rs 25,000 per acre and impose a tax on the import of paper pulp from foreign countries.

They demanded that the government should control the illegal transport of the wood and see the market committees purchase the wood from the farmers at the assured prices. The district social forestry farmers association president K Veerareddy, secretary TV Seshaiah, Raitu Sangham leader U Prakasa Rao also participated in the meeting.