Vijayawada: The farmers of Andhra Pradesh are in severe distress due to the State government’s failure to ensure Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for their crops, pushing them into protests and financial ruin, said former chief minister and YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday.

Taking to X, he slammed Chandrababu Naidu’s coalition government for ignoring the plight of farmers. “Farmers are sinking into debt, unable to recover input costs, while the government doesn’t even look their way,” YS Jagan stated. Despite widespread agitation, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his administration have shown a shocking lack of empathy, ignoring the plight of farmers struggling to recover their investments amid crippling debts.

Crops like chillies, cotton, jowar, red gram, black gram, green gram, maize, millets, ragi, groundnut, tomato, banana, sugarcane, and tobacco are fetching prices far below MSP, leaving farmers vulnerable. The government failed to intervene in the market or take responsibility for stabilizing prices, instead using deceptive tactics that betray the trust of the agricultural community, he said. “The government’s inaction is not just negligence; it is a betrayal of the farmers who feed the country,” he said.

A glaring example is the case of chilli farmers, who were promised procurement by NAFED at Rs. 11,781 per quintal. Not a single rupee has been spent, nor a single quintal purchased, leaving farmers stranded, he added. In contrast, during the YSRCP tenure, Rs. 3,000 crore was allocated under the Price Stabilization Fund, with Rs. 7,796 crore spent over five years to support farmers, including those growing tobacco, a crop not covered under MSP, he recalled. “Our historic decisions brought relief to farmers. Had this government continued our policies, farmers would not be suffering today,” YS Jagan asserted.

The current administration’s allocation of a mere Rs. 300 crore in this year’s budget for farmer support is grossly inadequate, and there is no evidence that even this amount has been utilized. As farmers growing paddy, cocoa, tobacco, and aquaculture, protest across districts, the government remains indifferent, behaving like “an emperor fiddling while Rome burns.” With 60% of the State’s population dependent on agriculture, this neglect risks plunging the sector into a crisis, threatening livelihoods and food security.

YS Jagan demanded immediate government intervention in the market to ensure MSP for all crops. The State must procure produce through Markfed and provide direct relief to farmers, he opined. “We cannot allow the backbone of our State to break under the weight of apathy. The government must act now to save our farmers,” he said.