India: Stick to Prescribed Crop Size to Get Good Price, Tobacco Board Tells Growers

Source from:  Business Line  01/06/2014

There has been considerable spurt in tobacco exports till November during the current financial year in comparison with the corresponding period last year, but farmers both in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka should stick to the crop size prescribed by the board to get good prices on the auction floor, according to Tobacco Board Chairman K. Gopal.

He was speaking here on Friday at the Tobacco Board formation day celebrations after presenting awards to 31 farmers from AP and Karnataka and 19 traders on the occasion. He said the exports of tobacco leaf and products fetched Rs 4,000 crores till November during the current fiscal against Rs 3,100 crores during the corresponding period last year. For the entire fiscal (2012-13) the exports earnings amounted to Rs 4,979 crores.

Gopal said the prospects therefore were good, but the farmers should exercise discipline and stick to the crop size prescribed (102 million kgs for Karnataka and 172 million kgs for Andhra Pradesh). "It is of the essence that the crop in both the principal states should not exceed 270-275 million kgs. Then the farmer can expect a remunerative price on the floor. The trade should also support the farmers," he said.

He said the board was undertaking several welfare measures for the farmers with a corpus of Rs 34.55 crores and so far Rs 10.31 crores had been spent on giving grants to farmers and Rs 4.28 crores in the form of loans. The board has increased the grant amount to Rs 50,000 from Rs 25,000 to farmers in the case of natural death and to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 50,000 in the case of accidental deaths.

He said two more auction floors were being built in Karnataka and one more in AP and the board had spent Rs 3.6 crores on input subsidies.

Y.Sivaji, the honorary president of the AP Virginia Tobacco Growers' Association, said more money should be spent on the welfare of tobacco farmers, as the Government was earning huge sums in the form of foreign exchange. He said the Tobacco Board was totally self-sufficient and the Union Government was not sanctioning any funds separately for the board, unlike in the case of Rubber Board and other boards. Therefore, at least Rs 100 crores should be sanctioned for the board to take up farmers' welfare schemes.

M. Srinivasulu Reddy, the member of Parliament from Ongole and the board member, said the Government would take all steps for the welfare of tobacco growers and traders. Enditem