Aqua syndicate dictating terms in Andhra Pradesh, alleges Jagan
YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has slammed the NDA government for ‘pushing the aqua sector into distress” with its anti-farmer policies, and says that
YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has slammed the NDA government for ‘pushing the aqua sector into distress” with its anti-farmer policies, and says that his party will stand by the farmers and take the path of agitation till justice is done to them. Addressing the aqua farmers after a rally against the policies of the government in Bhimavaram in West Godavari district on Wednesday, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the aqua syndicate continued to dictate terms — from seed and feed to processing, and marketing, pushing the sector into a crisis. “At present, shrimp is being offered a maximum of ₹230 per kg as against an input cost of ₹275, including 60% that goes into feed cost.
Within four months, the companies have increased the feed cost twice without the farmers’ consent as the government weakened the APSADA,” he said. The YSRCP chief said that ₹3,306 crore in power subsidy was borne by the State government during 2019-24, while the alliance put nearly 12,000 aqua farmers' applications for new connections on hold. He further alleged that only single-phase power was being supplied instead of three-phase for the aqua farms. Alleging that the government closed the State Aquaculture University at Narsapuram, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy sought to know the status on the Super-Six manifesto for the aqua sector.
“Did the alliance create 5,000 tonnes of cold storage facility anywhere in the State? Are the aqua farmers outside the aqua zone getting a subsidy on power? Is any subsidy being offered for aerators? The status of these promises speaks that the aqua farmers have been betrayed,” he said. “The aqua sector of Andhra Pradesh, which bagged the Best Marine State Award for the financial year 2021-22 and 2022-23, and registered 51 lakh tonnes of aqua and marine production (2023-24), is now pushed into a crisis. The severe crisis puts the livelihood of nearly 15 lakh people at risk, worsening the state of 1.5 lakh aqua farmers,” he observed.
In Andhra Pradesh, the total area under aquaculture, including brackishwater aquaculture, was above five lakh acres, he added. Prior to the rally, the aqua farmers dumped shrimp on the road and burnt them, protesting against the ongoing crisis, a steep rise in the cost of feed and input materials on the outskirts of Bhimavaram. The aqua farmers from Krishna and Godavari regions participated the rally.
The BriefWire