Minister for Agriculture K. Kanna Babu has said that the State government will intervene and ensure that the Flue Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco farmers are paid better remunerative prices.
Mr. Babu told reporters after convening a meeting with traders and farmers here on Friday that it had come to the notice of the State government that low grade tobacco varieties were getting lower prices when compared with higher grades. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who came to know of the plight of the farmers, directed the Department of Agriculture to convene a meeting with Tobacco Board officials, traders and farmers and resolve the issue.
“We urge the Tobacco Board to increase the competition by involving more traders and make the market competitive. This is a farmer friendly government and we will review the price scenario on a daily basis. If the situation does not improve, we will then initiate measures,”Mr. Babu said.
Chairman of the Board K. Sunitha said that 44 million kg of FCV Tobacco had been sold so far and added that low grade FCV tobacco varieties were not getting remunerative prices. The Board had initiated several measures that were helping the farmers from the time they sowed the seed. Sensing the trend of low prices, the Board had convened meetings five times to ensure that the farmers got better prices. The Board had also introduced Zero Budget Natural Farming in a big way to encourage farmers to adapt natural farming methods, she added.
MLAs TJR Sudhakar Babu (Santhanutalapudu), G. Srinivasa Reddy (Narsaraopet), deputy speaaker Kona Raghupati (Bapatla) and farmers from various tobacco regions were present.
