Cotton, maize farmers suffer losses as procurement centres remain shut: Harish Rao

Former Minister T. Harish Rao criticised Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for delays in crop procurement, alleging that farmers are incurring heavy losses due to government inaction. He demanded immediate opening of procurement centres and highlighted failures in power supply and agricultural support.

Siddipet: Former Minister T Harish Rao slammed Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for delaying the procurement of cotton, maize and paddy, accusing the Congress government of ignoring farmers’ distress.

Interacting with maize farmers in his constituency on Sunday, Harish Rao said the Chief Minister was more focused on criticising the opposition than resolving the procurement crisis.

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He pointed out that cotton farmers were being forced to sell their produce at less than Rs 5,900 per quintal against the MSP of Rs.8,100 due to the delay in opening procurement centres. This, he said, had caused losses of Rs 2,000 per quintal for farmers who sold to middlemen and traders.

He said maize was cultivated on six lakh acres across Telangana, yet the government had failed to open any procurement centres.

“Forty per cent of maize farmers have already sold their produce at much below the MSP of Rs 2,420 per quintal, losing nearly Rs 10,000 per acre,” he said.

Recalling the BRS regime, Harish Rao said former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao ensured procurement centres for all crops were opened on time. He accused the Congress government of failing the farming community on multiple fronts, including power supply, alleging that “while BRS gave 24-hour power to agriculture, the Congress government is giving just 11 hours.”

Demanding the immediate opening of cotton and maize procurement centres, he urged farmers not to sell their produce to middlemen. During his visit, Harish Rao also interacted with women farmers while having lunch near their fields and later visited the residence of BRS worker Gaddam Raji Reddy at Pedda Lingareddypally in Siddipet rural mandal, whose house was gutted in a fire mishap. He presented Rs 20,000 in cash as immediate relief and assured further support.