Devarapalli, Aug 5: Former Chief Minister and YSRCP President Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has demanded that the coalition government immediately bring MARKFED into tobacco procurement, saying farmers are being pushed into deep distress due to rising cultivation costs, falling prices and cartelisation by traders.
Speaking to the media after interacting with tobacco farmers at Devarapalli on Wednesday, YS Jagan said companies and traders have formed a syndicate to manipulate market prices while the Chandrababu government remains hand in glove with them. He said only around 20 percent of the tobacco crop has been procured despite the Tobacco Board earlier encouraging farmers to cultivate tobacco with an assurance of procurement.
YS Jagan said tobacco farmers are being forced into distress sales. During the YSRCP government in 2023–24, the average tobacco price was Rs 289 per kg, but after 27 months of coalition rule, it has fallen to around Rs 220 per kg, with farmers saying they are being forced to sell even at Rs 170 per kg. He said farmers are losing at least Rs 70 per kg.
He said the YSRCP government had created a robust system to protect farmers by making MARKFED a buyer, which increased competition and helped keep prices higher. The government had also provided Rs 1 lakh zero-interest loans to farmers. Chandrababu has now discontinued that support, worsening the crisis at a time when cultivation costs have risen sharply and farmers are not getting MSP.
Referring to the death of tobacco farmer Venkateswara Rao, YS Jagan said he died by suicide after being unable to bear the losses, but there has been no response from the government and no public representative visited the family.
He warned that buyers may shift to Karnataka auctions within a month, which would further bring down prices in Andhra Pradesh. He said the Rs 20 subsidy announced by the government would only help traders reduce prices further and would not solve the farmers’ problem.
YS Jagan demanded that MARKFED be brought into procurement to create competition and protect farmers. He said farmers are not getting MSP for any crop under the coalition government, including paddy, banana, tobacco and pulses. Education, health, agriculture and all sectors have been hit under Chandrababu’s governance, while those who question the government are being targeted with false cases and arrests.
During the interaction, farmers told YS Jagan that they were getting only Rs 170 per kg, and the price increased by Rs 10 only after news spread that he was visiting. They also said that during the YSRCP government, even low-grade tobacco was procured, helping small and marginal farmers, but that practice has now been stopped.
YS Jagan said all sections of people are unhappy with the backstabbing party that has deprived them of welfare schemes and assured tobacco farmers that YSRCP would continue to fight until justice is done.
