*Free Crop Insurance scheme must be restored immediately*

Tadepalli, July 29: YSRCP State General Secretary (Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare) MVS Nagi Reddy has demanded that the TDP coalition government immediately restore the free crop insurance scheme, accusing it of betraying farmers after promising before the elections to implement the scheme in an even better manner.

Addressing the media at the YSRCP Central Office in Tadepalli, he recalled that during the five-year tenure of former Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the government paid the entire crop insurance premium on behalf of farmers, ensuring that they did not bear even a single rupee of the premium burden. In contrast, the present government has scrapped the scheme and is forcing farmers to pay the premium themselves while simultaneously running campaigns urging them to enrol.

Nagi Reddy alleged that the government is using El Niño and drought concerns to pressure farmers into paying premiums. He pointed out that farmers in Anantapur district are being asked to pay premiums of up to Rs1,140 per acre for certain crops, Rs2,750 for sweet lime, Rs3,000 for banana, and Rs1,440 for chilli, adding to their financial distress. He also said there is no justification for creating unnecessary panic over rainfall when the monsoon season continues until October and official data indicates rainfall is improving.

He also highlighted the severe crisis faced by tobacco farmers due to falling market prices and urged the government to allocate Rs 500 crore to MARKFED for procurement operations to ensure remunerative prices. He said despite producing around 94 million kg of tobacco, farmers have suffered losses of nearly Rs 3,300 crore because of the government's failure to adopt an effective marketing policy. He demanded immediate price stabilisation measures, release of all pending dues, and a comprehensive action plan to protect farmers' livelihoods