TS govt urged to buy sunflower crop by paying MSP of Rs 6,760

Hyderabad: Senior BRS leader T Harish Rao on Monday demanded the State government to buy sunflower crop by paying support price of Rs 6,760.

He wrote an open letter to CM A Revanth Reddy stating that in the State farmers have harvested sunflower in 20,829 acres of undivided Medak and Nizamabad districts. “I wrote to the government on February 22 this year that this crop is not getting the MSP in the market. Responding to that, Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswar Rao promised to buy sunflower crop by paying the support price of Rs.6,760,” said Rao.

He said the purchases in markets started, but instead of buying the entire yield from farmers. ‘They bought only what the Central government wanted to collect as its share. The rest of the crop is currently not being purchased. As a result, 75% of crop is sold at a very low price; farmers have to lose. The State has a crop yield of 165,800 quintals. In this, the Centre has agreed to buy only 37,300 quintals with its own funds. With the funds provided by the Centre in the markets, they procured only as per the set target. The Centre buys only 25% of total crop. The remaining 75% has to be purchased by the State government.

The BRS leader recalled that the BRS was in power, procurement centres were opened under Markfed; the crop was bought at a support price. This time also farmers are demanding to pay MSP of Rs.6,760 till the last grain harvested and buy crop. Buying only from funds provided by the Centre and keeping silent about the share to be purchased by the State government is deceiving farmers, asserted Rao.