Latest news with #A.P.RythuSangham
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Andhra Pradesh shrimp farmers gear up for Statewide stir over steep U.S. tariffs
Leaders of farmers' organisations and representatives of the aquaculture sector have announced a phased agitation seeking urgent government intervention to support shrimp farmers reeling under steep U.S. import duties on Indian aqua exports. At a roundtable held on Tuesday, Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham State president V. Krishnaiah said that U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to increase tariffs on Indian shrimp exports by 50%—taking the effective duty to 59.65%—had plunged the State's prawn farming sector into crisis, affecting more than four lakh acres of shrimp farms across coastal Andhra Pradesh. Former A.P. Rythu Sangham president B. Balaram noted that last year's export volume of 7.16 lakh tonnes now faces an additional burden of ₹50,000 per lakh of value, leading to price crashes and losses of up to ₹40,000 per tonne. Farmer leader Y. Keshav Rao criticised the U.S. for imposing far higher duties on India compared to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, or Ecuador, and urged the Centre to ensure that farmers receive pre-tariff prices through procurement by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA). Speakers, including AIDWA State general secretary D. Ramadevi, highlighted the severe impact on women workers employed in shrimp processing units. Tenant Farmers' Association State secretary Y. Haribabu moved a resolution demanding government procurement of all shrimp stocks, recognition of aquaculture as part of the agriculture sector, provision of power subsidies for aqua farmers, regulation of prices to stabilise returns, and expansion of domestic markets to absorb surplus produce. The meeting resolved to submit memoranda to the Union Agriculture Minister and the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and to intensify the agitation through district-level protests, farmers' conferences, and public demonstrations across the State's aqua farming hubs.
The Hindu
05-08-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Rythu Sangham condemns arrest of union leaders in Karedu village
The Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham has strongly condemned the 'arbitrary' arrest of farmers' and agricultural workers' union leaders at Karedu village in Nellore district. A.P. Rythu Sangham president V. Krishnaiah and General Secretary K. Prabhakar Reddy in a statement on Tuesday (August 5, 2025) said that Mooli Vengayya (District Secretary, A.P. Rythu Sangham), Mangala Pullayya (District Secretary, A.P. Agricultural Workers Union), and Kumar (CITU leader) were detained by Ulavapadu police under the pretext of Section 30 when they attempted to visit Karedu. The leaders termed the arrests an undemocratic and oppressive act, questioning the government's decision to ban people's representatives from entering the village. Blaming the State government, they said that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is afraid of people's movements. The arrests are an attempt to suppress public dissent and hide the government's forced land allocation to IndoSol Solar, a subsidiary of Shirdi Sai Group, against the will of local farmers. 'This is a ploy to stifle the voice of thousands of farmers and agricultural workers who are openly protesting the coercive land acquisition. But repression through police force cannot silence people's resistance,' they added.
