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Mr Javvadi Nani, a farmer with 25 acres in Matsyapuri in the water-rich East Godavari district, has not grown paddy this kharif. But he is happy because he has already seen a ‘surplus' of Rs 1.75 lakh as he saved himself from incurring a loss of Rs 7,000 an acre.
“We spend Rs 25,000 on acre but what we get in return is just Rs 18,000. This is why we have decided to go on crop holiday,” Mr Nani told Business Line.
Several other farmers like him are also ‘happy'. Though happening in a fraction of total arable land in Andhra Pradesh, the novel protest by farmers is going to have a huge economic impact on the State in the form of lost production, taxes not collected, man-days lost and stalled input sales.
Taking a conservative estimate of 1.25 lakh acres in East and West Godavari districts, the Federation of Farmers' Associations (FFA) has estimated that the State was all set to lose Rs 530 crore by the end of season. The FFA has conducted a social-economic impact of crop holiday to assess the losses in the area.
At an average yield of 21 quintals an acre, the crop holiday area would have produced 2.62 lakh tonnes of paddy worth Rs 283 crore (Rs 1,080 a quintal). A hectic season would have consumed 75 lakh man days that would have earned Rs 150 crore.
Fertilisers, seeds
Apart from labourers, fertiliser, pesticide and seed companies too are feeling the pinch. While fertiliser and pesticide dealers lost business of Rs 25 crore each, seed companies must have lost sales of Rs 7.50 crore.
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