CM wants market intel to help farmers on prices

Amaravati: Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy called for an effective mechanism on market intelligence for agriculture products and asked the officials to take immediate steps to keep the prices of vegetables under check.

Speaking at a review meeting on Agriculture Mission here on Saturday, the Chief Minister said the new mechanism should be evolved on the basis of inputs from agriculture committees and a long-term plan need to be drafted for stabilising the prices.

Jagan suggested a cell with experts for purchase of agriculture produce and maintenance of agriculture marketing in the state. He said the next meeting of the mission should discuss the agriculture yield, minimum support price and the scenario in the market in the state.

The officials brought to the notice of the Chief Minister that the farmers cultivating some pulses and tomatoes are not getting viable prices due to surplus stocks with farmers and the policies of the government. Jagan enquired about the growing prices of onions and asked the officials to put a check on them.

He further said during the previous government, traders and the politicians in the garb of farmers duped the farmers to a great extent and felt such incidents should not be repeated in the state.

The Chief Minister said the village volunteers should help out famers in all possible ways to get the MSP for their produce. From the rabi crop, farmers should be helped in all aspects, the Chief Minister told the officials. Market Stabilisation Fund and opening of purchasing centres should ensure that farmers get viable price to their produce, he said.

The dues to farmers pending from the previous government had accumulated up to Rs 1,830 crore and will be cleared by month-end and Rythu Bharosa and input subsidies will come a long way in helping farmers in the days to come, he said. The cultivation of pulses should be encouraged in dry and arid lands, he told the officials present in the meeting.