Ongole: Prakasam district in-charge collector Ronanki Gopalakrishna assured tobacco farmers that the state government is taking all necessary measures to prevent losses to cultivators and emphasised that farmers need not worry about the procurement process.

Gopalakrishna visited the tobacco procurement centre at Garlapadu village in Maddipadu mandal on Wednesday to inspect the ongoing tobacco purchasing operations. During his visit, he interacted with farmers to understand the procurement process and address any concerns. He gathered comprehensive information about the quantity of tobacco brought to the procurement centre, adherence to scheduled procurement timelines, storage facilities, and capacity for tobacco bales, cash payment procedures for farmers post-procurement, and overall procurement methodology from the officials and the farmers.

The collector observed that the HD Burley tobacco procurement has been ongoing for 15 days at the Garlapadu centre through the Markfed. He said that about 360 metric tons of tobacco, worth Rs 3 crore, have been purchased from 110 farmers. He assured that the procurement will continue until September. He explained that farmers must register their names in the app before bringing their tobacco to the procurement centres. Following registration, Markfed will purchase tobacco from farmers according to the designated schedule, he added.

Emphasising the importance of quality, the collector noted that farmers should bring properly graded tobacco bales as per government guidelines. He assured that Markfed will procure all tobacco that meets the specified standards. He announced that the state government is implementing all necessary measures to benefit tobacco farmers through the procurement process and urged the farmers not to have any concerns about the initiative. Ongole Revenue Divisional Officer Lakshmi Prasanna, Markfed DM Harikrishna, Maddipadu tahsildar Adilakshmi, and other district officials participated in the programme.