Hyderabad: Agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led Centre over paddy procurement and farm policies, alleging that they were failing to protect farmers and had become a “curse” for them.Responding to BJP leaders’ remarks, Tummala said the claims of Union ministers on grain procurement did not reflect the ground reality. He pointed out that Telangana farmers cultivate not only paddy, but also maize, millets, pulses, soybeans, sunflower, cotton and oil palm on a large scale.He said the Food Corporation of India was not procuring the entire paddy crop and questioned why BJP leaders were silent on the Telangana govt’s additional bonus of ₹500 per quintal over the Centre’s MSP of ₹2,300. He said the state govt was taking concrete steps to improve farmers’ incomes.The minister also criticised the Centre’s 25% procurement cap on pulses, soybeans and sunflower under the MSP scheme, asking where farmers were expected to sell the remaining produce. He said crops like maize and millets, widely cultivated in Telangana, were still outside the Price Support Scheme despite MSP announcements.Tummala demanded transparency in MSP fixation and questioned whether the Centre was following the Swaminathan Committee’s C2+50% formula. He also warned that reduced import duties on foreign farm products, particularly cotton imports from the US, were hurting Indian farmers and dragging down domestic prices.
