Farmers Declare Crop Holiday

Left in the lurch by government apathy, the ryots of East and West Godavari districts have declared a crop holiday.

With the government failing to address the 4-month old demand of paddy agriculturists for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their produce, and the continued lack of storage space at grain purchase centres in the state, farmers are reported to have lost all faith in the government.

In East Godavari, 4 villages in Allavaram mandal and 17 villages in Uppalaguptam mandal; and 7 villages in the West Govadari district have declared a crop holiday. The farmers lament that they are in no position to invest in cultivating crops when they are not sure about the minimum guarantee for their efforts.

4 villages in East Godavari district, namely Bendamurlanka, Komaragiripatnam, Odalarevu and Tummulapalli, together account for nearly 5,000 acres of paddy. But the farmers of these villages have decided to stay away from cultivating paddy this season as hundreds of paddy heaps from the Rabi season lay on the fields, awaiting takers.

The ryots of the Godavari districts demand that the government announce a clear-cut welfare policy for the farmers, and implement it.

"The farmers are in no position to cultivate new crops in the existing circumstances, as the government is yet to give them anything other than false promises," says the President of Bharat Kisan Sangh, G Ramachandra Rao. He also revealed that the farmers are currently unable to shell out the daily wage costs of cutting their crops.

According to sources, farm labourers now demand upto Rs. 500 for a day's work.

Speculations are rife the agriculturists of other villages may follow suit, and crop holidays by themselves, if the government does not immediately take steps to alleviate their problems.