Andhra Pradesh - Anantapur   

APRS disputes State’s claim on fertilizer, seed availability

ANANTAPUR: There is a huge gap between the claims of the State government and the actual situation in the field with regard to availability of agriculture inputs like fertilizers and seeds, as there is acute scarcity of both inputs, according to the Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham (APRS).Supply of fertilizers and seeds has not picked up even though the kharif season is under way. Farmers are forced to purchase them in the black market at several places, APRS president K. Ramakrishna told newspersons here on Monday.

Instead of taking up remedial measures, the government was resorting to counter attacking opposition parties by claiming that 32.5 lakh tonnes of fertilizer was being made available to the farmers this season against 27 lakh tonnes last year and that 13.7 lakh tonnes more seed was being supplied. However, the two inputs were highly scarce in the market now.

The fault lay purely with the government as it had failed to fix the subsidy component and price of fertilizers till last month due to increasing oil prices in the international market. Had the government finalised the pricing three months back, fertilizers would have been available in abundance to the farmers, he felt. The government had completely failed in controlling black marketing of fertilizers, he alleged.

The delay in settling loan waiver by banks had also put the disbursement of fresh loans on hold causing severe hardship to the farming community who were already taking up cultivation this season. As a result, they were being forced to rely on traders and private moneylenders for their investment needs.

Andhra Pradesh was at the top in the country in alienating large extents of land from the farmers in the name of SEZs and industries. About one lakh acres of land had already been converted into SEZs and industrial estates. It was now planning to snatch lakhs of acres from farmers in the name of coastal industrial corridor.

It would have a severe impact on production of foodgrain and fishing, K. Ramakrishna feared.

The government’s move of alienating lands from farmers was encouraging modern landlords to acquiring SEZs, he alleged. The APRS would launch campaigns from Ichchapuram in Srikakulam district and Thada in Nellore to mobilise public opinion against the coastal corridor and would hold a meeting at Machilipatnam.

He also criticised MRPS founder M. Krishna Madiga for his attempt to attribute caste to everybody and it was a dangerous act. He stated that nobody had appreciated articles like ‘Baduga Nethalu’ in Andhra Jyothi or the attack on the newspaper office by MRPS and foisting of SC, ST Prevention of Atrocities case against the newspaper employees.

He also faulted Krishna Madiga for criticising everybody opposing attack on Andhra Jyothi.

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