*Govt betraying farmers, cutting benefits and scrapping crop insurance: Kannababu*

Kakinada, March 13: Former Minister Kurasala Kannababu strongly criticized the coalition government, stating that its policies have become a curse for the agriculture sector and that farmers are being repeatedly deceived. Speaking to the media at his camp office in Kakinada, he said the government is spreading false claims about the third installment of the Annadata Sukhibhava–PM Kisan scheme while failing to honour its promise of providing Rs. 20,000 financial assistance to farmers apart from the central PM-Kisan support. Instead, he said, the government skipped payments in the first year, provided only Rs. 10,000 in the second year, and has now excluded more than 7 lakh farmers from the scheme in the latest installment.
Kannababu stated that under the previous YSRCP government, 53.58 lakh farmers received investment support through Rythu Bharosa, whereas the current government is extending benefits to only 46.85 lakh farmer families, effectively cutting off over seven lakh beneficiaries. He also alleged that tenant farmers are being completely ignored despite earlier support extended to SC, ST and BC tenant farmers during the YSRCP regime. Highlighting the growing agrarian distress, he said Andhra Pradesh ranks among the top states in farmer indebtedness and that the government has failed to address the crisis despite mounting evidence of farmer and agricultural labourer suicides. According to available data, 393 farmers and 2,472 agricultural labourers died by suicide last year, yet the state budget has made no meaningful provision to support affected families.
He further criticized the government for scrapping the free crop insurance scheme introduced under Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, which had protected farmers without requiring them to pay premiums. Kannababu said that between 2023 and 2025, about 55 lakh farmer families benefited from the scheme, but its discontinuation has deprived farmers of nearly Rs. 3,500 crore in compensation. He questioned why the government failed to pay crop insurance premiums and demanded an explanation for the Rs. 3.18 lakh crore in borrowings accumulated in the last 20 months if farmers are not receiving support.
Kannababu also pointed out that despite 16 natural calamities occurring during the coalition government’s tenure, affected farmers have not received adequate compensation or input subsidies. He accused the government of abandoning farmer-friendly initiatives such as the zero-interest crop loan reimbursement scheme and failing to provide market intervention support for crops like onion, turmeric and banana. He said the government’s claim of supporting agriculture through a Rs. 300 crore price stabilization fund is grossly inadequate and reflects its lack of commitment to farmers. He concluded that while the previous YSRCP government stood firmly with farmers through crop insurance, procurement support and welfare schemes, the present government has pushed the agriculture sector into distress through neglect, broken promises and misleading propaganda.