Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said that if the price of chilli is less than Rs. 11,781 per quintal, the Centre has been asked to come forward to purchase it under the market intervention scheme. He said that if this proposal is accepted, the Central and State governments will have to bear 50 percent of the cost.
A review meeting was held with chilli farmers, traders, exporters and officials at the Secretariat on Saturday. Speaking on the occasion, he said that when prices fell in 2017, Rs. 1,500 per quintal was provided and Rs. 135 crore was spent for this. He said that the main objective of the government is to help chilli farmers who are facing difficulties due to the fall in prices.
He asked exporters, traders and commission agents to cooperate in this. He said that he had written letters to the Centre on December 26 last year and February 5 and 11 this year regarding the difficulties faced by chilli farmers. He wanted steps to be taken so that the farmers receive the message as soon as the tickets are collected in the chilli yard.
The Chief Minister said that steps will be taken to sanction loans based on bonds to farmers who have stored chilli tickets in cold storage. He said that basic facilities should be provided in Guntur Spices Park. He said that the details of farmers registered in e-CRAFT and the details recorded in the records after selling the crop in yards will be considered for providing assistance to farmers.
Chadnrababu said that he will discuss with the Center for setting up mango and chilli boards in the state. He said that he will talk to the Krishnapatnam Port Authority and officials and take steps for the transport of chilli containers. Chief Secretary Vijayanand, Agriculture Minister Atchannaidu and others participated in this meeting.
Meanwhile, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan assured that he would support chilli farmers in Andhra Pradesh and the Center has also taken steps to provide assistance to tomato farmers. He appealed to the farmers not to worry and said that all necessary decisions are being taken for the welfare of farmers.