Agriculture Minister K. Kanna Babu on Tuesday said the government had sanctioned funds to the tune of ₹ 3,000 crore towards Market Intervention Fund (Price Stabilisation Fund) in the current fiscal (2019-20).
Replying to a question on whether the government had established a price stabilisation fund to protect the farmers’ interests in the Assembly, Mr. Kanna Babu said besides, the government had released a sum of ₹ 100.69 crore towards a revolving fund for procurement of pulses on behalf of National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation/ Food Corporation of India (ED/FCI) through the Andhra Pradesh State Cooperative Marketing Federation (APMarkfed).
Cash subvention
The government had also given administrative sanction for a cash subvention of ₹ 1,500 per quintal of Bengal gram stored in cold storages and warehouses.
This was in addition to an order to release ₹ 232.61 crore and another ₹ 100.39 crore under the price stabilisation fund. He said a total of ₹433.69 crore had been released till date for the farmers’ cause.
YSRCP member Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy said his party was wedded to the welfare of farmers.
He reminded that former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had ridiculed Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy when the latter proposed free electricity supply to the farming community.
“Mr. Naidu had mocked at Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy that the use of the power cables would be reduced to drying clothes if any attempt to implement such populist scheme was made. But YSR proved him wrong and translated the proposal into reality.”