Both Union and State governments have given a raw deal to the farmers of the State, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran has said.
The LDF government is yet to keep its promise in the election manifesto that a support price of ₹250 would be given for rubber. Though the government earmarked ₹500-₹600 crore in the State Budget, farmers were given just ₹20 crore in 2021 and ₹33 crore in 2022.
The hardworking farmers of the State are forced to beg for the money the government owes them. The government owes over ₹500 crore to farmers, which is the unpaid arrears for paddy procurement. The government also owes Supplyco over ₹1,100 crore.
Both the government and the Supplyco have been cheating the farmers. Over 71,000 farmers in the State have been waiting for the paddy procurement dues for the past two months. In Palakkad district alone, over 50,000 farmers are yet to receive this payment. Only about 30% of those who registered in Supplyco have received the payment.
‘Coconut farmers unhappy’
The coconut farmers too are an unhappy lot because of the huge drop in the price of coconut. Since the procurement of fresh coconut declared by the government remained on paper, the price of coconut in the open market crashed.
Mr. Sudhakaran said that all sections of farmers in the State are a distressed lot and that the State and Union governments were vying with each other to pursue anti-farmer policies.
