Visakhapatnam: Tribal farmers of Parvathipuram Manyam district have on Saturday accused the state government and ITDA (Integrated Tribal Development Agency) officials of not declaring a minimum statutory price (MSP) of ₹200 per kilogram for cashew nuts despite submission of a representation at the Collector’s Office in this regard on April 6.
At the time, cultivators from Bangarampeta and Komatlapeta villages in Devukona panchayat had also sought opening of a procurement centre at Komarada mandal headquarters, so that either the Girijana Cooperative Corporation or the Horticulture department could procure cashew at MSP through the Velugu programme.
Officials of the Horticulture department have informed the tribal community that the government has not yet announced the minimum support price for cashew. Further, it is up to the Marketing department to take a decision on opening the procurement centre in Komarada mandal.
Cashew is grown over 68,000 acres across eight mandals under the jurisdiction of Parvathipuram ITDA. There is a factory to process cashew at the district headquarters. Farmers charge that the factory has not been utilised to support them.
With no official procurement mechanism in place, farmers say middlemen are exploiting them by dictating their own prices. CPM leader Kolli Sambamurthy said while cashew procurement had been initiated last year under the Velugu programme after their protests, not a single cashew nut has been purchased during this season so far.
Sambamurthy went on to highlight the price disparities, pointing out that cashew is fetching ₹180–₹200 per kilogramme in Palasa of Srikakulam district. But in Parvathipuram, they are getting only ₹135 to ₹165 per kilogramme. Farmers allege that traders further deduct 500 grams per 50-kilogramme bag, claiming it accounts for the weight of the gunny bag.
Farmers say middlemen at Kothavalasa have been buying cashews for just ₹135 to ₹140 per kilogramme over the past two days. If farmers question them, traders say farmers can sell their produce elsewhere.
The tribal community is demanding that the state government intervene immediately and establish procurement centres in every mandal to purchase cashew at a fixed rate of ₹200 per kilogramme through the Velugu programme of the Horticulture Department, or by the Girijana Cooperative Corporation.
Farmers warn that if their demands are not met, cashew cultivators from all eight mandals will stage a mass protest at the ITDA office in Parvathipuram.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
