Farmers demand fair price for black burley tobacco

Ongole: Samyukt Kisan Morcha Prakasam district convener Chunduri Rangarao demanded fair prices for black burley tobacco farmers in the state.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha organised a meeting on the crisis in black burley tobacco cultivation, with the farmers at the Mallaiah Lingam Bhavan here on Thursday.

Speaking at the meeting, Rangarao, who has twice served as a Tobacco Board member, expressed anger over tobacco merchants’ exploitative practices against farmers.

He revealed that while black burley tobacco was purchased at around Rs 15,000 per quintal last year, this year merchants are buying it for only Rs 3,000-4,000. When questioned about this drastic price drop, he said that the merchants give misleading excuses, claiming farmers cultivated excessive areas and citing low international demand for burley tobacco.

Rangarao also extended support to Virginia tobacco farmers facing similar exploitation. He accused certain so-called farmer leaders of acting as broker-agents for tobacco merchants, prioritising commissions over farmers’ interests.

He warned that unless Virginia tobacco farmers wake up and organise for controlled cultivation, they will continue facing severe losses and offered to help lead a unified struggle for fair prices.

President of Nallamada Farmers’ Association Dr Kolla Rajamohan said that about 80 pe rcent of burley tobacco growers are SC, ST, and other marginalised communities who work as tenant farmers. He observed that many poor agricultural labourers entered farming after seeing last year’s promising prices, taking loans at high interest rates and pawning gold to finance cultivation. Now, company representatives are blaming these same farmers for overproduction while conspiring to purchase their tobacco at extremely low prices, he added.

The farmers’ leaders called for united resistance against corporate company tactics and announced plans to submit memoranda to MLAs, MPs, and district ministers from April 26 to 30.

They also plan to meet with burley tobacco farmers and prepare for a ‘Chalo Chief Minister’s Office’ programme on May 5. Representatives of multiple farmers’ associations criticised the government for standing with traders rather than farmers during the marketing season.

They noted that burley tobacco is widely cultivated across ninedistricts in the state and can compete with Virginia tobacco in quality.