Vijayawada: Farmers from across Krishna, Guntur, and NTR districts urged the government to immediately procure the paddy stock lying with them and to ensure that the officially announced Minimum Support Price (MSP) is actually delivered. They alleged that despite the government’s announcements, there is no proper implementation at the ground level. State General Secretary of the Tenant Farmers’ Association M Haribabu said he too faced serious difficulties in selling his paddy at Aurupudi village in Movva mandal.

He said farmers in Movva mandal are being forced to go directly to mills, and that technical assistants at Rythu Seva Kendras (RSKs) are unable to specify permissible percentages for parameters other than moisture content.

According to him, millers are dictating the purchasing rate, and RSK staff merely conveys their terms. Even after informing the collector, joint collector, Vuyyuru RDO, Movva Tahsildar, and the Procurement Officer at the Civil Supplies Department, farmers were still forced to sell at Rs 1,470.

He explained that even after harvesting before the cyclone and drying the paddy for six days, the moisture measured 17.5%, but millers rejected it citing various reasons unless the price was reduced.

“RSK officials simply said they could do nothing,” he added. Haribabu warned that this harassment forces farmers to sell to middlemen, resulting in a loss of Rs 200–Rs 300 per bag. In a village with nearly 1,000 acres, total farmer losses range from Rs 70 lakh to Rs 1 crore. Senior farmer leaders Y Keshava Rao, Jonna Siva Shankar of Guntur district, and others participated in the meeting.