The ₹31,256.36-crore agriculture budget presented in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly by Agriculture Minister K. Kannababu on Friday failed to meet the expectations of the farmers, said Ch. Ranga Rao, Prakasam district convener of the Samyuktha Kisan Morcha.
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He said the huge cut in the allocation for the market stabilisation fund to a mere ₹500 crore from ₹3,000 crore earlier dashed the hopes of the farmers on earning a remunerative price for their produce, as the market prices for most of the cash crops as well as food crops ruled below the minimum support price necessitating market intervention in a big way.
“It has been observed that much of the allocations made in the previous years have remained unspent,” he lamented.
Slash in subsidy for micro irrigation systems to a mere 10% from the previous 90% would be a bane of the growers, especially in the drought-prone regions such as Prakasam district, he said, adding that it was an endless wait for the farmers whose crops had been procured by the Rythu Bharosa Kendras during kharif at a time when winter crop harvest had picked up.