Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who has already announced a support price of Rs. 1,200 per quintal of onion for onion farmers, announced that the government will pay Rs. 50,000 per hectare based on e-crop regardless of the fresh crop. He assured that the farmers can dry and grade the onion crop after it is fully prepared and sell it when they get a good price.
He explained that a key decision has been taken to pay Rs. 50,000 per hectare to each farmer to support them as the cultivation area has increased and the price of onion has decreased due to rains. He expressed hope that this decision will benefit farmers who cultivate onion in 45,000 acres. He said that although it is a financial burden on the government, the decision has been taken for the welfare of the farmers like never before.
CM Chandrababu assured that if there is any problem with the support price for the farmers, he will take a step forward and stand by them. He explained that during the 15-month coalition government, he always responded quickly to support the farmers. Under PM Kisan – Annadata Sukhibhava, Rs. 3,200 crore has been deposited in the accounts of farmers.
If mango farmers lose the support price, he recalled that they have been supported by giving Rs. 260 crore. Chandrababu also recalled that if the price of HD tobacco falls due to international markets, Rs. 271 crore has been spent to provide them with assurance. He said that Rs. 14 crore was spent and Rs. 50 per kg was paid for cocoa beans.
He explained that he has helped tribal farmers by giving Rs. 50 per kg of coffee as compensation to prevent the spread of berry borer to the coffee crop. The Chief Minister said that Rs. 12 crore was spent and collected through Mark Fed to ensure that tomato farmers get the support price without any loss. He revealed that the money was deposited in the accounts within 24 hours of purchasing the grain. CM Chandrababu clarified that Rs. 13,500 crores were spent on purchasing paddy during the 15 months.
The largest onion crop is being cultivated in the Telugu states in the joint Kurnool district. Farmers are opting for this crop as the lands there are suitable for this crop. This year, due to early rains before the start of the Kharif season, farmers cultivated onions on a large scale in the month of May itself. With this, the onion that was supposed to arrive in the months of September and October started arriving in the month of July.
