Coalition has become a curse to farmers

Tadepalli, December 2: Former MLA and YSRCP Official Spokesperson Kaile Anil Kumar strongly criticised the TDP-led coalition government for plunging Andhra Pradesh’s agriculture sector into an unprecedented crisis. 
Speaking at the YSRCP Central Office in Tadepalli, he said farmers across the state are suffering as never before, caught between continuous natural calamities on one side and the government’s utter negligence on the other. While cyclones and storms have devastated crops, the government has completely dismantled all farmer-support systems established during Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s tenure, including the RBKs that hand-held farmers from seed distribution to crop procurement.
Anil Kumar expressed deep concern that farmers are standing in queues even for seeds and urea, with black-marketing thriving due to the government’s failure to ensure supplies. Despite harvests being ready, not a single crop is receiving Minimum Support Price, leaving paddy piled up in yards and even on highways for days together. He highlighted that in Penamaluru, paddy heaps lying on the road for ten days were forcefully removed by officials at the direction of a minister, not to help farmers but to “avoid bad publicity” for the government.
He also slammed the government for remaining silent even after the massive losses caused by Cyclone Monta, with no announcement from either Centre or State about compensation or input subsidy. The coalition government, he said, has effectively scrapped input subsidy altogether, pushing farmers further into distress.
Citing examples from his own Pamarru constituency, Anil Kumar revealed that a 75-kg paddy bag is not even fetching Rs. 1,000, and traders are deducting up to 12 kg per bag under the pretext of moisture. With traders and middlemen ruling the market, farmers are being cheated openly, a situation that never occurred under the previous YSRCP government when RBKs ensured fair procurement. Today, not just paddy but black gram, green gram, millets, chillies, tobacco, onions, tomatoes, sugarcane, and even mangoes are being sold without any MSP, while banana prices have crashed to a shocking 50 paise per kg.
Anil Kumar demanded that the government immediately announce MSP and begin crop procurement to rescue farmers from total collapse. He condemned the coalition for resorting to vindictive actions when farmers raise their voices, instead of addressing their genuine grievances. He concluded that unless the government corrects its course, agriculture will continue to sink deeper into crisis under Chandrababu Naidu’s rule.