Ensure level playing field in marketing of agri products: Jagan

Says intervention in times of crisis through price stabilisation fund will help farmers

Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday said that a level playing field would be created in marketing of agricultural products to ensure that farmers got remunerative prices.

“We will not let down our farmers, battling many crises, including climate change. Our government will intervene whenever the prices are declining and support farmers through a price stabilisation fund,’’ Mr. Jagan said at a review meeting on agri infra projects.

Stating that the performance of Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBK) had been lauded across the country, Mr. Jagan said the kendras had evolved as a single point facility for access to fertilizers, pesticides and quality seeds.

“Ensure farmers receive the orders placed in RBKs, which will also act as sub dealers from next rabi season. There is also a need to effectively counter misinformation propaganda on the RBKs. Community hiring centres will be set up where paddy is being cultivated,” he said.

The Chief Minister instructed officials to encourage farmers to cultivate alternative crops such as millets instead of paddy under borewells and to provide incentives to farmers who cultivated alternate crops and told officials to set up processing plants at these locations.

The officials said they were setting up seed-cum-millet processing units at 33 places and 20 of them would be ready by December. A target to complete 33 units by March 2022 has been set, they said.

The officials said that BMCs identified in the order of priority would be completed by December. They said milk collection was on the rise in the districts where the Jagananna Paala Velluva programme was being carried out.

While pointing out that false information was being propagated on Jagananna Paala Velluva programme, Mr. Jagan said that Amul was not a private company, but a cooperative dairy which was being operated by farmers to whom the profits were being passed on and added that conditions were created to hike milk procurement price after Amul entered the market.

The officials explained to the Chief Minister the progress of works related to setting up food processing units and informed that works related to fishing harbours at Juvvaladinne, Nizampatnam, Machilipatnam and Uppada were in progress and would be almost completed by July. The Chief Minister instructed the officials to focus on works related to the remaining five fishing harbours.