VIJAYAWADA: BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao met Union Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal and submitted a memorandum requesting the ministry to pay a compensation package to the tobacco farmers of the State, who have been facing losses due to poor market prices and recurring droughts.
He also urged the minister to waive the penalty that is levied on additional cultivation of tobacco, in a bid to improve the farmers’ earnings.
The parliamentarian along with representatives from the tobacco farming community, including some from the YSRC’s farmers’ wing, met the Minister in New Delhi on Tuesday.
GVL informed the latter that he had personally toured Prakasam district to know about the plight of the tobacco growers. “Low rainfall has resulted in the production of low-quality tobacco, which fetches a lower remunerative price of Rs 80 per kg. A lot of the tobacco is also rejected during the auctions,” he said.
He said that the Centre had bailed out tobacco growers when a similar situation arose in 2015 by paying a compensation package of Rs 20 per kg in the State. “A compensation of Rs 20 per kg should be paid now as well, to reduce the farmers’ misery,” he said. GVL also noted that a penalty of 15 per cent is levied for producing more tobacco than the approved quantity. “Even as the overall production in the State is less than the authorised quantity, penalties are being levied. In this context, a complete waiver or lowering of the penalty is to be considered,” he added.