Turmeric Farmers Facing Severe Crisis Under Coalition Rule, Alleges YSRCP Leader

YSRCP State official spokesperson and Vemuru constituency coordinator Varikuti Ashok Babu strongly criticised the coalition government in the state, alleging that it was betraying turmeric farmers and destroying the farming community by failing to provide a Minimum Support Price (MSP) .

On Saturday, during his visit to Oleru village in Bhattiprolu mandal , Ashok Babu inspected turmeric crops cultivated by local farmers and interacted with them directly. He enquired about the hardships being faced by farmers due to the sharp fall in market prices.

Speaking on the occasion, he recalled that during the tenure of former Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy , support prices were provided for every crop and farmers received strong backing through direct procurement carried out via Rythu Bharosa Kendras . He stated that the YSRCP government had provided an MSP of Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 9,000 per quintal for turmeric and claimed that farmers were financially stable and satisfied during that period.

However, he alleged that the situation had completely changed under the present government led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu . He said turmeric prices in the market had now fallen below Rs. 5,000 per quintal , making it difficult for farmers even to recover their investment costs and pushing them into debt.

Ashok Babu accused the government of colluding with middlemen and traders at the expense of farmers. He expressed concern that the lack of remunerative prices could drive distressed farmers towards suicides.

He demanded that the state government immediately announce an MSP of at least Rs. 10,000 per quintal for turmeric and establish direct procurement centres through the government. Ashok Babu asserted that the YSRCP would continue its fight until justice was delivered to farmers and warned that large-scale protests would be launched if the government failed to change its “stubborn attitude”.

Several YSRCP leaders and farmers participated in the programme.