Farmers staged a protest here on Friday demanding better procurement price for paddy. Inaugurating the agitation staged under the banner of the National Karshaka Samajam, Rashtriya Kisan Maha Sangh national coordinator K.V. Biju said there was no choice for paddy farmers but to get a higher procurement price for paddy for survival.
He called upon the farmers to get ready for an agitation against attempts to upset the current system of power subsidy for agriculture.
The Karshaka Samajam demanded that farmers be given the right to kill vermins that destroy agriculture and pose a threat to humans. Samajam district vice president V. Vijayaraghavan presided. Samajam general secretary Muthalamthodu Mani, Josekutty J. Ozhukail, Jinna Mathew, K.N. Ramakrishnan and S. Suresh spoke.
‘Double standards’
The Bharatiya Janata Party Karshaka Morcha criticised the government for not increasing the paddy procurement price in the Budget. The Karshaka Morcha district committee said here on Friday that the government was showing its “double standards” when it came to handling farmers’ issues.
The Morcha said the government should procure paddy for at least ₹32 a kg. “Farmers can get back the money they spend on the fields only if the government raises the minimum support price,” it said.
The government had given ₹27.48 a kg when it procured the second crop of paddy last time. The Centre had increased 72 paise a kg, and the Budget presented by Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal said the government would procure paddy for ₹28.20 a kg. “This is cheating by the government,” said Karshaka Morcha district president K. Venugopal.
