After neglecting ‘crop holiday', or when farmers decide to keep their lands fallow, for weeks, the Andhra Pradesh Government has finally decided to have one-to-one meetings with protesting farmers.

It held a meeting with representatives and farmers from across the State at Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS) here on Thursday.

Farmers, however, remained unrelenting at the meeting and vowed to continue the protest through the season.

Representing various organisations, farmers from East Godavari and Krishna, where the crop-holiday protest is concentrated, poured in their woes to Mr D. Rajanarasimha, Deputy Chief Minister, who is also taking care of the Agriculture Ministry, and Mr Botsa Satyanarayana, Minister for Transport.

CM assurance

“The Government assured us to announce relief measures after receiving report from the special committee headed by Mr Mohan Kanda, the former Chief Secretary,” Mr N.S.V. Sharma, Principal Secretary of Federation of Sugarcane Growers' Associations (AP), said, emerging from the meeting with the Chief Minister, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy.

“We will take measures to buy all the paddy stocks from farmers. We will also ask banks to reschedule loans, if need be,” the Chief Minister said.

Mr Addala Rambabu of Ayinavelli in East Godavari told Business Line that he still owned a stock of 2,000 bags of rabi paddy on the fields.

“If I sell it when prices are ruling at Rs 700-800 a quintal, I will be incurring losses. If I don't, I will be spending more on storage. Either way, I am going to lose.”

Mr Kovvuri Trinadha Reddy, General Secretary of AP Farmers Water Management Committees Association, demanded an input subsidy of Rs 10,000 an acre for farmers in the crop-holiday area.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW