Amaravati, Aug 4 (IANS) YSR Congress Party president and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy will visit Devarapalli tobacco auction centre in West Godavari district on Wednesday and interact with tobacco farmers who are facing severe distress due to the falling prices, the party said.
During the visit, he will review the ongoing procurement process and assess the prevailing situation faced by tobacco growers.
The party said in a statement that Jagan Mohan Reddy will inspect the procurement operations and interact extensively with tobacco farmers to understand the challenges confronting them.
During the interaction, he will discuss key issues including cultivation costs, remunerative prices, procurement practices, and the difficulties being faced by tobacco growers.
Jagan Mohan Reddy will hear their grievances firsthand and gather feedback on the issues affecting their livelihoods, with particular focus on ensuring fair returns to farmers and addressing procurement-related concerns.
YSRCP General Secretary MVS Nagi Reddy told media persons at the party’s central office at Tadepalli on Tuesday that the tobacco farmers who had earlier called on the party chief had urged him to visit the auction platform to know firsthand their plight.
He stated that tobacco prices are falling despite Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s claims of low bid- no bid.
He said though the Chief Minister had been saying that tobacco should not be bought for less than Rs 200 per kg, the average price of tobacco is now at Rs 186.90 per kg.
The Tobacco Board, which is supposed to upload the data of the auction on the quantity, price, and rejections, has stopped uploading the same for the past 10 days, which is further troubling the farmers due to lack of information, he said. Farmers are staging protests, but there is no response from the government, he added.
Nagi Reddy said that the YSRCP, as a responsible opposition party, will highlight the farmers’ issues based on authentic data.
According to him, tobacco farmers are losing Rs 50 per kg while the Union Minister’s announcement will not provide any relief to the farmers. The government has said that high-quality tobacco will be purchased at Rs 250 per kg, medium at Rs 190, and low quality at Rs 110 per kg.
What the situation demands is that Markfed should be pressed into action, and this would create competition, and the farmers will get a fair price, he said.
Nagi Reddy said whenever Jagan Mohan Reddy visits to interact with farmers, be it tobacco, mirchi or mango farmers, the government swings into action. He hoped that the former Chief Minister’s tour of West Godavari district will also yield results as the voice of tobacco farmers will be heard nationwide.
The YSRCP believed that the El Nino effect may not be there in the state as the catchment areas in north, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Chhattisgarh are getting huge rains and the rivers are brimming with water. However, Srisailam waters are being drawn by the upper riparian state of Telangana by using five lifts, affecting Rayalaseema, he said.
–IANS
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