Agriculture Minister Atchannaidu has directed the MarkFed officials to take steps to ensure that the procurement of black burly tobacco grown by farmers in the state is not delayed and to complete the procurement of black burly tobacco by the end of September.
He conducted a review meeting with senior officials of the Agriculture Department and affiliated departments on the procurement of tobacco and cotton.
Minister Atchannaidu assured that the government machinery is taking strict steps to ensure that the farmers’ labor is not wasted and that the crops are procured on time in the market, and that farmers do not need to worry. He said that steps are being taken to ensure transparent procurement keeping in mind the interests of the farmers.
Special monitoring teams have been appointed to ensure that there is no corruption or trouble at the trading centers, and that the welfare of farmers is the first priority of the government, Minister Atchannaidu said.
He said that 80 million kg of black burley tobacco has been cultivated in the state, and so far 22 companies have purchased 40 million kg, and 15 million kg has been purchased through AP Markfed. A total of 55 million kg has been purchased so far, and private companies have been ordered to urgently purchase another 20 million kg by the end of this month.
The remaining 5 kg will be purchased by Markfed. He said that 740 GOs have been issued for this purpose, stating that no one should cultivate black burley tobacco in the 2025-26 Rabi season. He said that only farmers who have entered into MoUs with companies should cultivate white burley.
Minister Atchannaidu suggested that farmers should not cultivate black burley crops but should cultivate crops like gram, gram, gram, sorghum and maize. This year, the normal area under cotton cultivation in the Kharif season is 5.28 lakh hectares, while the crop has been cultivated in 4.02 lakh hectares and the cotton yield is estimated to be around 7.12 lakh metric tonnes.
The Minister directed the officials to purchase the cotton harvested in the Kharif season from the farmers at the minimum support price provided by the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI). Minister Atchannaidu advised the officials to set up purchase centers under the auspices of CCI by October 1 and take appropriate steps for this.