Red jowar farmers staged dharna before the Collectorate here, on Friday, demanding remunerative price for their produce and action against traders who were forming cartel to rig price in the market.
The dharna, organised under the banner of Rythu Joint Action Committee, demanded the payment of ₹4,500 per quintal of red jowar and purchase of crop through the government or its agencies, to avoid the intervention of middlemen.
At present, the per quintal rate at the open market is just ₹1,800, while every farmer is incurring a loss of ₹7,530 per acre at that rate, they said. The crop is grown on over 60,000 acres in 110 villages of Armoor revenue division. Used as cattle fodder, it is exported to Haryana, Gujarat, Chattishgarh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
The AIKMS State secretary V. Prabhakar pointed out that in 2008, when traders violated the agreement made with farmers, the latter, irrespective of political ideologies, agitated in a big way. The then TRS chief K. Chandrashekar Rao, at a meeting in Armoor, had assured the farming community that if his party came to power, it would ensure the purchase of the crop by the government itself. However, he has now forgotten his promise, said Prabhakar.
T-JAC chairman M. Kodandaram wanted farmers to be united to put pressure on the government for profitable price for red jowar. The JAC chairman B. Devaram, convener Raghupathi Reddy and leader M. Chandramohan also spoke.
