Subabul farmers demand fair price

Ongole: The social forestry, which was promoted as an alternative to tobacco in drought-hit Prakasam district, has lost favour with farmers. The growers, who have been traditionally growing tobacco, have switched over to plantations in the 1990s as an alternative growing subabul and eucalyptus.

The inefficient administration, which failed to make the paper manufacturing companies honour the fair price agreement, is now trying to convince the farmers for a low price. Witnessing the deadlock between the companies and authorities, the farmers are demanding the government to introduce the old practice where the companies purchase the subabul and eucalyptus logs through Agriculture Market Committees (AMCs).

In a meeting with the Ministers of Agriculture and Marketing and Water Resources held on January 19 in Guntur, the managements of paper mills agreed to pay Rs 4,400 per tonne of subabul and Rs 4,600 per tonne of undebarked eucalyptus to the social forestry farmers in the State. But now in Prakasam district, the companies are offering Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500 per tonne for Subabul and Rs 2,300 to 2900 per tonne for eucalyptus through their executives.

The Bhadrachalam Paper Board Limited, a unit of ITC Limited, is the main purchaser of pulp wood in the district.
The farmers observed that the executives of the BPBL and other companies are resorting to fraudulent activities by paying less to them but giving sale notes for the agreed price.

In a meeting held by Joint Collector Hari Jawaharlal on August 9, the farmers complained about the fraudulent activities of the companies and asked him to take action against them. Chunduri Ranga Rao, president of Prakasam District Development Forum and Duggineni Gopinath, secretary of the Raitu Sangham, complained against the executives of BPBL to YC Deveswar, Chairman of ITC Limited, and said,

The executives are collecting the difference money in cash between the price offering and amount written on the cheques from the farmers before handing over the cheques. If the farmers are unable to pay the money, they are demanding nearly one fourth of the wood without raising invoice.”

But the executives claim that they are acting as per the orders of their company and the right to take the decision in full payment should be done by the managerial level staff of the company. So, the farmers kept calling on the district administration to see the companies pay the agreed price regularly.

In the meeting on Saturday with the farmers and company representatives, District Collector Sujatha Sharma tried to convince both the parties for a better solution. But the farmers and companies stood firm on their claims and the ball is now thrown into the courts of the Ministers again.

In the mean time, the farmers started demanding the government to reintroduce the old system of purchasing the wood through the Agriculture Market Committees. Till four years ago, the subabul and eucalyptus farmers used to sell the logs to the paper mills through the Agriculture Market Committees.