Govts apathetic even as farmers in tears

The Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) of the Central government is implemented when there is at least 10 per cent increase in production or 10 per cent decrease in the ruling rates over the previous normal year. A proposal of MIS is approved at the specific request of State government, if it is ready to bear 50% loss, if any, incurred on its implementation

Red chilli farmers are in the red, primarily because of the mismatch between the cost of cultivation and market prices. They are not getting back their investments. They have offers as low as Rs 4,000 per quintal. Cost of cultivation has increased tremendously in the last one year, not just because of manual labour and pesticide costs.

In the past two years, due to humid conditions, pest incidence has been virulent necessitating measures of intensive pesticide spraying, resulting in higher costs on crop protection. Chillies, for plucking and various purposes, depend highly on manual labour from seeds to market supplies. As chillies cause itching, burning sensation, etc., during harvesting, transferring and primary segregation and processing, the cost of labour is higher in comparison to other crops.

Within a span of 10 years, the cost of cultivation of chillies climbed shot up from a mere Rs 30,000 to more than Rs1,00,000 per acre. Demonetisation impacts also added to the costs, in various ways. Seed quality has also been a concern, even as the cost of these seeds kept increasing every year.

In this scenario, despite peak demand, prices for chillies that are paid to farmers have drastically fallen. Chillies do not have even the notional support from Minimum Support Price (MSP). In the recent past, State Agricultural officials have presented a report on the cost of cultivation to Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices in Hyderabad. These officials have highlighted the rising costs of cultivation.

Armed with such internal pre-existing knowledge, the Government of Telangana through its marketing department and undertakings such MARKFED should have been ready with a plan of action to help farmers get better prices in the markets. However, recent reports show that this is not the case. As a result, chilli farmers are in distress. This is not just the case for chillies. Distress in markets has also been faced by the growers of cotton, turmeric, erra jonnalu and other products.

The Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) of the Central government is implemented when there is at least 10 per cent increase in production or 10 per cent decrease in the ruling rates over the previous normal year. A proposal of MIS is approved at the specific request of State government, if it is ready to bear 50% loss, if any, incurred on its implementation.

The Government of Telangana should have written a letter to Centre, by formulating a proposal that responds to these requirements of MIS.Exports also need to be encouraged through Spices Board. Among the export varieties, which have foreign demand, such as Sannam-4, Indian wrinkled chillies, Wonder hot, Bird’s eye chilli, Kashmiri chilli, Byadagi chilli and Warangal Chappatta, most of them are grown in Telangana.

The government should announce a support price of Rs12,000 per quintal for chilli farmers. It should facilitate procurement of chillies at this price through the state market institutions. In this regard, a consultation can be organised this farmers and their representatives. A transparent procurement system, with daily flow of information on prices and procurements, is required. Monitoring and grievance redressal mechanisms that are accessible and responsive to the needs of the farmers can be established.

There should be a state-level fund for such procurement, with procurement targets matching harvest statistics, to respond to 50% requirement under MIS. Additionally, the government should facilitate easier transport of red chillies across the State for better access to consumers. Direct farmer to consumer access points have also to be set up by the government.

As a long-term measure, beyond the current market intervention, the Government of Telangana should facilitate intensive activities of Spices Board in Telangana. Through Spices Board, support can be extended to exporters to procure material for executing export orders from all chilli-producing centres in Telangana. Spices Board office in Warangal needs to be strengthened and augmented. Red chilli processing in Warangal and Khammam should be encouraged.

To reduce cost of cultivation, the government should encourage Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in chillies to reduce expenditure on pesticides. The Government of Telangana should also avail of central funds for a pilot project for solar drying of chillies for reducing aflatoxin. It should also encourage farmers to produce chillies under IPM (Integrated Pest Management), or non-chemical methods, by paying a premium to the growers.

By Dr D Narasimha Reddy