AP farmers threaten suicide over pending dues; Markfed borrows to tide over situation

Hence, we are seeking to raise a fresh loan of Rs 200 crore to immediately clear the dues to farmers and pull them out of distress, the top source said.Agriculture Minister Kanna Babu has discussed the issue with Agriculture and Cooperation Department Special Secretary Y Madhusudana Reddy and The Andhra Pradesh State Co-Operative Bank Ltd APCOB top officials to find a quick way out of the crisis.

Distressed farmers in Andhra Pradesh are threatening suicide as the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government failed to make payments to the tune of Rs 200 crore, on the Rabi produce procured, for more than three months now, officials said.

The AP State Co-operative Marketing Federation Limited (Markfed) procured maize, jawar, bajra, ragi, program, and other farm produce during Rabi-2021 and owes over Rs 200 crore to farmers. In fact, the dues were more than Rs 300 crore but the Markfed somehow borrowed Rs 100 crore from a commercial bank last week and paid some of the ryots.

Anxious farmers have been frantically calling Markfed Managing Director P S Pradyumna and other officials pleading for payment of money but to no avail.

Some farmers from Krishna and Guntur district called Pradyumna the other day and threatened to commit suicide, as "we are completely broke" if their dues were not cleared immediately, a senior official claimed.

Things have reached such a pass that some distraught farmers were said to be calling up Agriculture Minister K Kanna Babu's office as well saying suicide was the only option available for them.

Pradyumna, however, denied all this. "Nobody has threatened. This information is not correct," he told PTI.

Government sources said the Finance Department had not cleared pending bills to the tune of Rs 300 crore ''despite repeated pleas'', because of which the farmers could not be paid.

As hapless farmers started venting out their frustration, the Markfed authorities desperately borrowed Rs 100 crore from a commercial bank last week and cleared some of the dues.

''We will clear this loan as and when the Finance Department releases the money,'' a senior official said.

The Markfed procured about three lakh tonnes of maize, 1.20 lakh tonnes of jowar, and other commodities from farmers during Rabi.

''We have utilized the Rs 3,000 crore Market Intervention Fund and also borrowed money from AP Co-operative Central Bank and other sources and spent a total of Rs 5,000 crore on the procurement,'' a top government source said.

By re-selling the produce on national e-market platforms, Markfed got back some Rs 4,400 crore, leaving a loss of about Rs 600 crore. The Finance Department has to release the money to enable Markfed to make payments to the farmers.

''There has been no response from the Finance Department on this. Hence, we are seeking to raise a fresh loan of Rs 200 crore to immediately clear the dues to farmers and pull them out of distress,'' the top source said.

Agriculture Minister Kanna Babu has discussed the issue with Agriculture and Cooperation Department Special Secretary Y Madhusudana Reddy and The Andhra Pradesh State Co-Operative Bank Ltd (APCOB) top officials ''to find a quick way out of the crisis''.