Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) President Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy met with tobacco farmers in East Godavari district and listened to their problems. He accused the Chandrababu Naidu government of neglecting farmers and colluding with companies.
Jagan Mohan Reddy said, “In 2023-24, i.e. during the last year of the YSRCP government, the average price of tobacco in the southern and northern regions of the state was ₹289 per kg. But today this average price has come down to ₹214 per kg across the state.”
He said that while farming costs and production expenses have risen steadily over the past two years, farmers are forced to sell their produce at a lower price than before, at ₹75 per kg. The former Chief Minister alleged that “Chandrababu Naidu’s government is based on lies and is colluding with companies to deliberately depress tobacco prices to benefit a few during procurement.”
He also criticized the ₹20 per kilogram subsidy announced by the government a week ago as inadequate, saying it would provide no real benefit to farmers but would instead cause them further losses. Jagan Mohan Reddy said Chandrababu Naidu is talking about providing zero percent interest to farmers on loans up to ₹50,000, whereas during the YSRCP government, interest-free loans up to ₹1 lakh were provided.
He claimed that today no farmer in Andhra Pradesh is happy and almost every crop is not getting fair price, due to which farmers are facing financial crisis.