Agriculture Budget failed to address farmers’ distress: YSRCP

The YSR Congress Party general secretary M. V. S. Nagireddy has criticised the State’s 2026-2027 Agriculture Budget, alleging that it does little to mitigate the mounting distress among farmers across Andhra Pradesh.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Mr. Nagireddy said the allocation of ₹240 crore for seed subsidy and ₹139.65 crore for farm mechanisation is inadequate and lower than the average expenditure during the previous five years. He alleged that the withdrawal of free crop insurance, non-payment of the zero-interest subsidy and failure to compensate farmers for losses caused by Cyclone Mocha have worsened the agrarian crisis.

He said farmers cultivating chilli, tobacco, mango, onion, banana, groundnut, cotton, maize, millets and pulses have suffered losses due to poor market prices, often below the Minimum Support Price. He also pointed to a decline in paddy output compared to last year and alleged that procurement support has been insufficient.

Mr. Nagireddy further criticised the allocation of ₹500 crore for price stabilisation through Markfed, terming it grossly inadequate in the backdrop of declining cultivation and production over the past 20 months.