As political parties gear up for the ensuing general elections, farmers and other stakeholders in agriculture sector in Andhra Pradesh have demanded an allocation of 10 per cent of the Budget for the agri and allied sectors. This allocation must go up by 25 per cent every year, they said.
Rythu Swarajya Vedika, a non-governmental organisation, has called for a Rs 1,000 price stabilisation fund to offer a cushion for farmers, who are often forced to sell their produce far below the market prices.
“About 60 per cent of the population in the State depends on agriculture for its livelihood. In the last twenty years the successive governments have neglected agriculture and allied sectors and assigned to a low priority in the policies,” Ravi Kanneganti of Rythu Swarajya Vedika, said, talking on the wish-list released by the organisation.
He said the organisation had compiled the list after consulting various stakeholders in the last few days.
“The fact that 35,898 of our farmers have committed suicide in the past 18 years shows how neglected this sector is. In addition to this, 13.68 lakh people have left cultivation in the last decade and most of them became agriculture workers,” he said.
The other demands include: income security to farmers to ensure fair and decent living incomes to farming based livelihoods; guarantee for fair and remunerative prices; building Institutional support to farmers; agriculture development board; and State prices commission.
The organisation has plans to meet representatives of various political parties to persuade them to include these demands in their respective election manifestos.