Over 50,000 cashew farmers are likely to play a pivotal role in Srikakulam’s political landscape as several parties have failed to provide a concrete assurance over the announcement of Minimum Support Price (MSP) and establishment of the Cashew Board and Cashew Development Corporation similar to those present in Kerala and other states.
Cashew is being grown on nearly one lakh acres of the Uddanam region of Srikakulam district every year. However, the farmers are dissatisfied with the lack of MSP for their produce. At present, middlemen have been purchasing 80 kgs of cashew nut bags at around ₹8,500, while the farmers insist on ₹16,000 MSP for the same quantity.
Andhra Pradesh Cashew Farmers Association State president Teppala Ajay Kumar urged voters to utilise this election to demand assurance over the MSP from all political parties. “Cashew traders are cheating farmers by offering a very low price for their produce, although finished cashew is sold at ₹600 per kilo in the market. Thus, we appeal to the voters to extract a concrete assurance from the leaders, when they come to seek votes,” he said.
“The government should announce at least ₹94,000 financial assistance for the development of crops under the NREGA scheme, supply high-quality cashew saplings, and also establish cashew processing units in all mandals across the State,” Mr. Kumar added.
Around 240 kilos of raw cashew nuts are produced per acre in the Uddanam region. Sometimes, the production is likely to be affected by water scarcity and pest menace. The farmers who spend around ₹15,000 on each crop for its maintenance and labour charges are unable to get remunerative price for their crops.
“Unfortunately both the YSR Congress Party and the Telugu Desam Party have failed to respond to our grievances. As far as the Uddanam region is concerned, the farmers will vote for parties which formulate an action plan to ensure MSP for cashew nuts,” said A. Ramana, a farmer of Mandasa mandal in the Srikakulam district.
