YS Jagan Backs Farmers, Tells TDP to Stop the Drama, Start the MSP
While Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has been busy orchestrating the spectacle of the Amaravati re-launch program, farmers across the State have taken to the streets in protest, demanding that the State government ensure Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their crops.
Coming down heavily on the TDP government, YSRCP president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said that Chandrababu’s insensitivity to farmers’ problems is a classic case of "fiddling while Rome burns."
Lambasting the government, Jagan stated, “Farmers are incurring massive debts due to the scale of their investments and the lack of MSP for their crops. None of the crops — chilli, cotton, sorghum, gram, maize, ragi, groundnut, tomato, sugarcane, etc. — are being paid the MSP.”
Accusing the Chandrababu-led government of ignoring its basic responsibilities toward farmers, the YSRCP president alleged that the administration is deceiving the ryots.
Highlighting the Chief Minister’s "fake promises," he said the TDP government misled chilli farmers by promising that the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) would procure their yield — despite chilli not falling under the Centre’s procurement mandate.
“While they promised to procure one quintal of chilli for ₹11,781, the government has not purchased the yield from even a single farmer. As a result, not a single paise has been paid to them,” he pointed out.
Reflecting on the administration under the previous YSRCP regime, Jagan noted that his government had allocated ₹3,000 crore to the Price Stabilization Fund and spent ₹7,796 crore over five years.
“We took historic decisions and supported farmers of many crops, including tobacco, which is not even on the MSP list,” Jagan said. He added that had the TDP government continued YSRCP’s policies, farmers would have been better supported.
He also questioned the Chandrababu government’s priorities for allocating only ₹300 crore for farmers in the 2025–26 budget.
Jagan emphasized that the State would face a serious crisis if the agriculture sector is neglected, as 60% of the population depends on it.
“Who will take responsibility if lakhs of people lose their jobs?” he asked, demanding immediate government intervention to ensure MSP and crop procurement through AP MARKFED (Andhra Pradesh State Co-operative Marketing Federation Limited).
.@ncbn గారూ… కనీస మద్దతు ధరలు లభించక రాష్ట్రంలో రైతులు రోడ్డెక్కి ఆందోళన చేస్తున్నా వారి గోడు పట్టించుకోవడం లేదు. కనీస మద్దతు ధరలు లభించక, పెట్టిన పెట్టుబడులూ రాక రైతులు అప్పుల ఊబిలోకి కూరుకు పోతున్నారు. మీరు, మీ మంత్రులు, యంత్రాంగం కనీసం వారివైపు కన్నెత్తికూడా చూడకపోవడం… pic.twitter.com/cW0REI1bV6
— YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (@ysjagan) May 3, 2025
