Restore farmers’ confidence by ensuring MSP for produce, A.P. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu tells officials-OxBig News Network

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Friday took a serious note of the tobacco farmers’ plight, falling prices of cocoa, and losses suffered by chilli farmers.

Expressing strong displeasure over the fall in tobacco prices, Mr. Naidu, during a review meeting, asked the officials to restore farmers’ confidence by ensuring minimum support price for the produce so that the government’s reputation was not tarnished.

Insisting that the farmers be bailed out of the distress situation, the Chief Minister directed the officials to ensure that tobacco farmers did not suffer losses under any circumstances. “Traders must commence procurement of tobacco at remunerative prices immediately,” he said, adding that the process should not stop under any pretext.

HD Burley tobacco

Mr. Naidu further said that companies should purchase HD Burley tobacco at the rate of ₹12,500 per quintal based on quality. GPI and ITC companies must immediately start procuring 20 million kg. Procurement should be monitored daily through a control room and WhatsApp groups. The Agriculture Department must report procurement details every two days, the Chief Minister said.

The officials informed the Chief Minister that in the 2024-25 season, tobacco cultivation, including FCV, White Burley, and HD Burley varieties, was carried out in an extent of 1,90,456 hectares in the State, resulting in a yield of 450 million kg, which was the highest ever. Due to the farmers’ preference to tobacco cultivation over other crops, production unexpectedly doubled, creating new problems, they said.

Referring to cocoa, Mr. Naidu stressed the need to ensure remunerative price for the produce. He asked Mondelez company to procure cocoa beans at a price not less than ₹500 per kg. Mr. Naidu instructed Mondelez to formulate a plan covering all aspects, from cultivation to value addition. He also emphasised the need to develop a special model for cocoa cultivation and marketing, similar to the one adopted for oil palm.

Advice to chilli farmers

The Chief Minister instructed officials of the Agricultural Marketing Department to prepare a list of farmers who sold chilli through agricultural market committees.  A study should be conducted to assess the extent of losses suffered by the chilli farmers. Middlemen should be completely excluded from the list, and only genuine farmers should be included. “There is also  a  need to create awareness among the chilli farmers to reduce the use of pesticides and follow quality standards that align with export requirements,” he added.

The Chief Minister directed officials to purchase the remaining paddy from the farmers across the State and encourage them to cultivate fine (sanna) varieties of paddy.

The officials informed the Chief Minister that so far during this rabi season, 17.62 lakh tonnes of paddy had been procured from 1,41,144 farmers, and ₹3,258 crore credited to their accounts.

In contrast, during the rabi season of 2023–24 under the previous government, 10.97 lakh tonnes of paddy had been procured from 49,866 farmers, and ₹1,103 crore paid to them.

The officials said that in the current kharif season, 35.95 lakh tonnes of paddy was procured from 5,65,369 farmers, and ₹8,278 crore credited to their accounts. Under the previous government, during the 2023–24 kharif season, 29.97 lakh tonnes of paddy had been procured from 4,97,907 farmers, and ₹6,549 crore was paid, the officials said.