BENGALURU: CM Siddaramaiah has urged PM Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shivaraj Singh Chouhan to immediately extend the Price Deficiency Payment (PDP) scheme under the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) for Red Chillies to Karnataka.
In a letter to the PM, Siddaramaiah stated that lakhs of red chilli farmers in Karnataka, particularly in the Kalyana Karnataka region, are facing an unprecedented crisis due to the drastic fall in market prices.
The Government of India has approved the Price Deficiency Payment (PDP) scheme under the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) for red chillies (Guntur variety) in Andhra Pradesh, fixing the Minimum Intervention Price (MIP) at Rs 11,781 per quintal with coverage for up to 25 per cent of production. The CM termed it as a welcome step, but the distress faced by Karnataka’s red chilli farmers remains unaddressed.
“In Karnataka, the cost of production for Guntur red chillies (rain-fed) has been assessed at Rs 12,675 per quintal by the Karnataka Agricultural Price Commission. However, farmers are forced to sell their produce at distress prices as low as Rs 8,300 per quintal in markets like Sindhanur. This not only results in massive financial losses] but also threatens their very survival,” the CM stated.
The continued neglect of their plight will only deepen the economic distress and push many farmers into a debt crisis, the CM stated. He urged the Union Government to increase MIP to Rs 13,500 per quintal and expand coverage to at least 75 per cent of production.