AP CM asked Piyush Goyal to allow the sale of ‘excess FCV tobacco in States
With tobacco farmers reporting significant losses as a result of the Mandous cyclone that wreaked havoc in some coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh in 2022, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has asked the Union Commerce, Industry, and Consumer Affairs to provide assistance to the farmers.
During the 2022-23 season, he requested that the Union Minister allow the sale of ‘excess FCV (flue-cured Virginia) tobacco produced by registered growers and unauthorised FCV tobacco produced by unregistered growers without imposing any penalty.’
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Second planting
‘During the cyclone, approximately 53,000 hectares of tobacco crop were severely damaged in the districts of Prakasam, Nellore, Bapatla, Palnadu, and Guntur.’ They had no choice but to plant tobacco again because there was no other option. They had to spend money on irrigating the fields to protect the crop. ‘As a result, the cost of production has risen,’ he explained.
The Tobacco Board, which reports to the Commerce Ministry, regulates crop area by allocating space to each registered grower. Farmers are expected to pay penalties for excess production, if any exists.
‘Because they spent so much last year, they are unable to pay penalties.’ ‘I request that you not impose any penalties on farmers and facilitate the sale of their produce beginning with the 2022-23 season,’ the Chief Minister wrote in the letter.
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He cited a similar gesture made recently to tobacco farmers in Karnataka, where the government relaxed rules to allow the sale of excess FCV tobacco crop from registered growers and unauthorised FCV tobacco crop from unregistered growers at Tobacco Board-approved auction platforms.
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