Markfed starts procuring burley tobacco in Andhra Pradesh
The initiative comes in view of the destress in which the growers have landed this year due to increase in production and drastic fall in market prices.
The State government has estimated that there is about 90 million kg of burley tobacco across the State, out of which a majority of the produce is from the Parchur Assembly constituency in Bapatla district.
Parchur MLA Yeluri Sambasiva Rao has raised the issue of the burley tobacco growers and brought pressure on the government to purchase the produce to save the lives of the farmers.
Manazir Jeelani Samoon, Managing Director of the Andhra Pradesh Markfed told The Hindu that they started procuring the burley tobacco at seven auction platforms in four districts — Bapatla, Palnadu, Prakasam and Guntur, with an initial target of 20 million kg.
Private tobacco companies also started purchasing the produce from the farmers simultaneously.
Curbs on cultivation
Mr. Jeelani Samoon said, 'While instructing the Markfed to purchase the burley tobacco from the farmers, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has instructed the Agriculture Department and district Collectors not to allow the farmers to cultivate the crop from this agriculture year. There will be a strict prevention of burley tobacco cultivation in the State.'
He added that the Tobacco Board did not involve in addressing the problem of the burley tobacco farmers, as it was mandated to look after only the Flue-Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco.
Mr. Sambasiva Rao said that farmers cultivated the burley tobacco in high quantity this year as the produce was purchased at very high price the previous year. 'But this year, the companies have refused to purchase the entire produce stating that there is no market for it,' he added.
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