Upset with falling prices after imposition of lockdown, tobacco growers from Prakasam district on Wednesday pressed for intervention by the State government to create market buoyancy.
Farmer leaders led by former Tobacco Board member Ch.Ranga Rao called on senior YSRCP leader and TTD Chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy at Tadepalli in Guntur district, and urged him to direct a marketing agency to purchase 20 million kg of low and medium grade varieties, which accounted for a majority of the produce that faced rejections from the traders.
With an allocation of ₹200 crore, the varieties of tobacco not sought after by the traders could by purchased to create a healthy competition in the market, explained AP Rythu Sangham leader Vadde Hanuma Reddy.
Crop holiday
Vellampalli Tobacco Farmers’ Welfare Association president A. Seshagiri Rao wanted Mr. Subba Reddy to use his good offices with the Centre to declare a crop holiday during the next cropping season as the COVID-induced economic downturn was being used as a pretext to drive down the prices of different grades of tobacco by the domestic players.
The farmers had been rendered captive growers, meeting the needs of cigarette manufacturing firms and exporters, who give an exaggerated indent at the time of fixing the crop size and who offer low prices at the time of marketing citing lack of demand from overseas, they said.
Dismantle of barns
They also wanted Mr. Subba Reddy to pursue with Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu the farmers’ demand for ₹10 lakh per barn compensation to dismantle the barns, the primary processing unit of tobacco at the grassroots level, for them to quit tobacco cultivation once for all.