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Central aid sought to bail out chilli farmers
The State government has sought assistance from the Centre to bail out chilli farmers in the State who have been left financially stressed due to lack of fair price for their produce.
- Minister for Marketing explains to Union Minister for Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh that the producers are financially stressed out due to lack of fair price for their produce
- During the current year, chilli production has increased by 14 per cent to 6,98,353 tonnes
- Seeks 50 per cent assistance to purchase produce under market intervention scheme
Hyderabad: The State government has sought assistance from the Centre to bail out chilli farmers in the State who have been left financially stressed due to lack of fair price for their produce.
Marketing Minister T Harish Rao on Sunday urged Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh to help the chilli farmers in the State by providing funds.
During the current year, chilli production increased by 14 per cent resulting in adverse impact on prices. The commodity which commanded a price of Rs 10,000 a quintal last year was available in a range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 this year, Harish Rao said in a letter to Singh.
A committee of officials had recommended procurement of chillies at Rs 7,000 a quintal directly from farmers, he said. "Against the total chilli production of 6,98,353 MTs this year, 10 per cent of the production which is 1,74.588.25 MTs, is proposed to be procured under MIS (Market Intervention Scheme) with an estimated cost of Rs 502.59 crore," said the letter.
He requested for 50 per cent Central assistance under the Market Intervention Fund under the MIS be made available to the State by the Centre.
Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivasa Rao said he spoke to the Union Agriculture Minister to get the produce purchased through NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd). Upset over not getting remunerative price, scores of farmers staged a protest at the Enumamula agriculture market at Warangal last week and some of them burnt some quantity of chilli.
Similar incidents took place in other places in the state. Meanwhile, both the Congress and BJP have attacked the State government for inept handling of the chilli farmers' issue.
The State Congress alleged that the TRS government was in "deep sleep" to the woes of Chilli farmers. It has called for protests on Monday in headquarters of Assembly constituencies. Telangana Congress president and MLA N Uttam Kumar Reddy demanded that the State government purchase chilli produce at a price of Rs 12,000 per quintal. He asked the party cadre to submit memoranda to Tahsildars on Monday to make the State government act on the issue.
Telangana BJP spokesperson Krishna Saagar Rao said in a statement that the State government should be more accountable on the issue. Referring to the reported comments of TRS MP Kavitha that MSP is Central Government's responsibility, the BJP leader said the State government cannot escape its responsibility by making such statements.
