Though the Narendra Modi-led union government promised to rescue Guntur Chilli farmers from steep falling of prices through Market Intervention Scheme (MIS), no relief reached them and prices are further decreasing in the Guntur Market Yard. Farmers are forced to sell their produce at distress prices.
In the wake of the decline in prices over the past three months, farmers have not yet received the package announced by the central and state governments through the Market Intervention Scheme. On the 22nd of last month, it was announced that the center would help if the price of a quintal of chilli falls below Rs. 11,781.
Even after more than a month, the relevant procedures have not been released even today. With this, not a single farmer has received MIS. For the past month, chilli farmers have been getting a minimum of Rs. 9,000 per quintal and a maximum of Rs. 13,000.
Although the price increased slightly in the last week of last month, the price has further deteriorated since the last 15 days. More than one lakh ticks of goods are coming to the chilli yard daily. Of this, 80 to 90 percent of the goods are getting a maximum price of only Rs. 9,000 per quintal.
The price is being quoted up to Rs. 13,000 for only 10 to 20 percent of the goods. However, officials are sending reports to the government that the minimum price is not decreasing by Rs. 9,000, and the maximum price is ranging from Rs. 13,000 to Rs. 14,000. With this, it is reported that the government feels that the price will be 10 to 15 percent higher than the price announced by them, and therefore there is no need to implement the market intervention scheme.
Although the government says that if the price falls below Rs. 11,781 as announced, the relevant difference will be paid, but to whom should compensation be given in this regard? The officials do not have statistics yet on who is eligible for this. It is said that the number of farmers who have registered for e-crop is mainly very low.
Moreover, since there are many tenant farmers in chilli cultivation, there is no indication that the actual cultivator will receive financial assistance from the government. In the budget for the financial year 2025-26, only Rs. 300 crore has been allocated for the price stabilization fund for all crops.
How much chilli will be allocated to the farmer has become a topic of discussion. In the 2024-25 agricultural season, chilli was cultivated in 4,18,665 acres in the state. In this regard, 2,17,490 farmers and tenant farmers have registered their names in e-Crop. However, officials say that very few of the farmers who come to the yard are on the e-Crop lists.
