Banana farmers in Rayalaseema face severe crisis

New Delhi, December 1: YSRCP Rajya Sabha MP Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose has urged the Union Agriculture Ministry to intervene immediately and provide relief to banana farmers of Rayalaseema, stating that market failures are destroying the livelihoods of thousands of small and marginal farmers. He appealed to the Central Government to take urgent steps to protect farmers from ruin.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, he highlighted the alarming collapse of banana prices in the region, which has pushed farmers into deep distress. He said that despite record cultivation and high yields in recent seasons, the sudden crash in market prices has caused unprecedented losses. In Pulivendula, one of the biggest banana-producing zones, prices fell sharply from Rs 22,000 per tonne to Rs 8,000 per tonne within a month, marking a 60 percent collapse. Many farmers have been forced to throw away ripe fruit as they were unable to sell their produce.

Pointing to severe drought and erratic rainfall in the 2025 Kharif season, he noted that cultivation fell drastically to only 19 to 35 percent of normal in districts such as YSR Kadapa, Kurnool, and Anantapur. He said the situation has devastated farmers who invested lakhs of rupees expecting a stable income.

He also conveyed that YSRCP Party President and former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy visited the banana fields in Pulivendula and directed him to raise the matter in Parliament seeking immediate assistance.