Procure chilli through Markfed, says JP

‘Loan waiver will never benefit farmers’

Lok Satta national president N. Jayaprakash Narayan on Tuesday said farm loan waiver could never bring solace to the farmers and demanded that the Andhra Pradesh Government procure 25 lakh chilli bags lying in the cold storages.

Speaking to the media after interacting with the chilli farmers in the AMC premises, Mr. Narayan dismissed farm loan waiver as an election-eve attention-grabber, and said farmers would be benefited if they were provided Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the commercial crop.

He also faulted the government for not making efforts to identify vacant spaces in government ware houses and preserving chilli at a time when farmers were forced to pay more than ?200 per bag in the cold storages. “We demand that the AP Government buy the remaining unsold stock of chilli through the Markfed and provide relief to the farmers. The government should allot ?1,000 crore as a special assistance to farmers.,” Mr. Narayan said. AMC chairman Mannava Subba Rao and other party leaders were present.