Middlemen looting paddy farmers in Nellore, alleges YSRCP leader

Farmers in SPSR Nellore district struggle with low MSP for paddy, facing issues with procurement and middlemen.

Farmers, who grow paddy in SPSR Nellore district, are facing difficulties due to the lack of minimum support price (MSP), said former Agriculture Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) Nellore district president Kakani Govardhan Reddy while speaking at a media conference, at the YSRCP office in Nellore on Thursday.

“Paddy procurement is not being done properly, and the middlemen are looting the farmers in the district. Except conducting reviews, the local ministers and MLAs are not making any effort to support the farmers. The MSP for 850 kg (putti) of paddy has been fixed at ₹19,800, however, due to various reasons, the farmers are selling it to the middlemen for ₹15,000 per putti,” he said. Meanwhile, one putti equals 850 kg of paddy.

“The farmers who have grown BPT variety of paddy are facing more difficulties as they are unable to sell it even in the open market. During the previous YSRCP government, the farmers used to sell BPT paddy directly to the traders at ₹24,000 per putti while it was still on the field. Now, the situation has changed,” Mr. Kakani said.

“Though 300 paddy procurement centres have been set up in the district, the farmers are not even being given bags. They are unable to bring the paddy harvest to these procurement centres due to lack of transportation facilities. The rice millers are stealing an additional 150 kg of paddy from the farmers on the plea of moisture percentage,” he informed.

The YSRCP leader alleged that Sarvepalli MLA Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy had conducted a review meeting only to blackmail the rice millers. “When the paddy harvesting season comes, Somireddy’s blackmailing business begins, but the farmers are not getting a fair price. Mr. Somireddy took the package from the realtors to develop layouts around his house, closing irrigation canals,” he alleged.