Hyderabad: Farmers in Andhra Pradesh are battling a crisis with many resorting to distress sale of their bumper crop below the minimum support price and others threatening to go on a crop holiday. That means, they will not sow paddy this kharif season, and will work as NREGA labourers and abandon 5000 acres of fertile land.
CNN-IBN highlighted the state's paddy crisis, prompting the government to appoint a team of ten IAS officers to oversee paddy procurement. But farmer associations say that this step by the government has not helped them in any way.
Indian Consortium of Farmers Secretary Chengal Reddy said, "When there is a market for international exports, I don't understand why the government is hesitating to let the poor farmers benefit?"
The farmers' crisis has now taken a political colour with political leaders critiquing the lack of government action.
Telugu Desam Party President Chandrababu Naidu said, "This is government failure. They have not done anything for the farmers. No MSP, no assurance."
The Chief minister Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy is now in damage control mode and has launched a district wise 'farmer summit' program to discuss key issues regarding the crisis.
Agricultural experts say that there is very little the state government can do since the need of the hour is a policy decision on exports, which lies in the hands of the central government.
Farmers in Andhra Pradesh, however, hope their desperate measure of a crop holiday will wake the government up to what is increasingly becoming their battle for survival.
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