Lucknow/New Delhi, Aug 11 (IANS) Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav launched a bitter critique of the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government, over the worsening condition of potato farmers in the state, claiming that falling market prices, rising input costs and inadequate government procurement have pushed growers into severe financial distress.
Sharing a video from a potato market on his social media handle, Yadav questioned whether such low prices could possibly help the state achieve its economic ambitions.
“Will giving the farmer a price of ‘1 rupee per kilo’ for potatoes create a ‘1 trillion’ dollar economy?” Yadav asked.
He further took a swipe at the state government, saying, “Yeh hai ‘deal ki dheel’ ka parinaam, hairan-pareshan hai desh ka kisan’. Wah re Mukyamantri Ji,” which roughly translates to, “This is the result of the ‘laxity of the deal’. The country’s farmer is stunned and distressed.”
The video, shared by the SP supremo captures the chaos in the potato market, where a man can be heard describing the difficulties being faced by farmers as prices of hybrid potatoes have fallen drastically.
“The situation is getting worse and worse. Farmer brothers, hybrid potatoes are in a terrible condition right now. These potatoes were sold for one rupee per kilo in Chakarpur Mandi in Kanpur,” the man says in the video.
He further explains that even after farmers sell their potatoes for just Rs 1 per kg, the produce still has to undergo sorting, which involves additional labour costs before traders can purchase it.
The video highlights the growing financial burden on potato growers, who are being forced to sell their produce at extremely low rates despite having already incurred expenses on cultivation, labour, transportation and cold storage.
The man also cautioned potato farmers against taking hybrid potatoes out of cold storage at a time when market prices remain at rock-bottom levels. He advised growers to wait until they begin receiving a more reasonable price for their produce before removing the potatoes from storage.
According to the video, the financial situation has become so difficult that farmers are allegedly unable to recover even the expenses associated with transporting their produce. The man claims that after selling their potatoes at the prevailing rates, farmers are not even able to cover the RTO fare, apart from the additional cost involved in transporting the produce to cold storage.
Yadav’s criticism of the ruling dispensation comes against the backdrop of continuing concerns among farmers, over the prices they receive for agricultural produce and the gap between cultivation costs and market returns.
–IANS
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