A section of the farmers in Godavari districts have shown an exemplary commitment to forego cultivation of paddy by declaring a crop holiday for this kharif season. This decision has forced both, the Centre and state governments, to initiate several measures, including a hike in the minimum support price (MSP), issue of AP Licensed Cultivators Ordinance, provision of input subsidy on seeds and fertilisers and release of funds for farm mechanisation in 2011.
The main contention of the farmers is that though their input costs for cultivation of paddy are rising drastically, they are not being adequately compensated with a higher minimum support price. They are incurring an input cost of about Rs.1,300 to produce each quintal of paddy; they are paid only Rs.1,030.
However, when the Telugu Desam, BJP, YSR Congress and Leftists led a campaign against the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre and Congress government in the state, for failing to safeguard the interests of the farmers, the Centre took a decision to hike the MSP by Rs.100 and bring it up to the present price of Rs.1,130 per quintal. The farmers are happy with the MSP.
The state government has issued the AP Licensed Cultivators Ordinance in order to safeguard the interests of tenant farmers and the scheme was launched by the Chief Minister, N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, for the first time.
Accordingly, the tenant farmers, who were denied farm loans until now, will be entitled to them from bankers subject to the concurrence of the land owner from whom the tenant farmer leased out some land for cultivation.
They were unable to repay their loans when their crop failed, resulting in many of them committing suicide. The state government then announced farm loans up to Rs.1 lakh at a 25 paise rate of interest.
In East Godavari, paddy was cultivated in about 2.30 lakh hectares.
However, with nearly 89,000 farmers announcing a crop holiday, paddy was not grown in about 86,760 acres in 13 mandals of the Konaseema region in Amalapuram division. On an average, nearly 24 bags of paddy are raised per acre of land.
