· Demand immediate
resumption of auction for nearly 130 Million Kgs of Flue Cured Tobacco worth
Rs. 1700 Crores under prolonged storage; estimated loss of Rs 200 crore to
farmers due to deterioration in quality
· More than 330 millions
kgs worth Rs 2700 crores of tobacco lying in the open sky in Gujarat
as famers fail to sell the produce
· Appeals to the
Government to immediately sanction a compensation amount of Rs 25,000 to each
registered tobacco grower for their survival and re-schedulement of crop loans
· Failure to revive demand results in
significant price drop in Auctions & loss of farmer income, with
devastating impact on livelihoods of small and marginal farmers in the drought
prone and degraded tracts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka majorly depending on
income from tobacco crops
· Appeals for temporary
reduction of taxes on cigarettes as FCV tobacco demand has drastically fallen
under prolonged lockdowns
Federation
of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA), a non-profit organization
representing the cause of millions of farmers and farm workers of commercial
crops across the States of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Gujarat etc.
today appealed to the Government of India to save their livelihoods in the
present pandemic as the demand for the crop has weakened due to declining
volumes of cigarettes and other tobacco products as a result of prolonged
lockdowns.
FCV
tobacco farming community is undergoing severe stress to sell their harvest and
also to cope up with mounting labor and infrastructure charges due to
interruption to auctions due to the lockdown. Nearly 130 Million Kgs of Flue
Cured Tobacco worth over Rs. 1700 crores is waiting to be sold as the tobacco
auctions are moving at snail’s pace, causing quality loss under prolonged
storage.
The Gujarat famers, whose tobacco produce is used in the
making of bidi’s and other tobacco products are also struggling for their
livelihoods. More than 330 million kgs of tobacco worth Rs 2700 crore is lying
in the open fields as the traders are not ready to pick-up the produce because
government has banned the sale of tobacco products. The rains are expected in
coming days and if the government will not start the sale of tobacco products
both traders and farmers will go bankrupt. In Gujarat ,
tobacco is produced in several districts such as Anand, Kheda, Vadodara,
Panchmahal, Banaskantha, and Sabarkantha etc.
The
farmers have also appealed for reducing taxation on cigarettes to pre-GST
levels so that demand can be restored for the domestic legal cigarette industry
which is already reeling under penal taxation on account of continuous
increases in excise duties and compensation cess. Adding
to the existing woes of tobacco farmers, the Indian Government has also removed
tobacco export incentives, making India a less competitor in the Global market,
whereas other countries like Zimbabwe, Malawi, etc are encouraging the tobacco
farmers by providing incentives and subsidies.
The
tobacco auctions for the winter FCV cultivation usually starts in March and
farmers got an average price of Rs 121.53 per kg for the Andhra Pradesh crop
sold in 2019. This year, the demand has been very weak from the traders and
manufacturers due to rising inventory of cigarettes in the market during the
lockdown and delay in export shipments. More than 95% crop is waiting in barns
to be sold and FCV tobacco farming community of
Andhra Pradesh is estimating a loss is excess of Rs 200 crores because of quality
deterioration and weight loss.
Mr. Javare Gowda, President, Federation of All India Farmer
Associations (FAIFA), said, “We request the government to immediately start the
auctions in all the Tobacco Auction platforms. The Government should also direct
the Tobacco Board and other concerned officials to coordinate with FCV Tobacco
Manufacturers, exporters and traders to facilitate reasonable prices (Pre-Covid
market prices) for FCV tobacco produce at the auctions in Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka.”
“As
FCV tobacco farmers' are undergoing severe financial crisis, we request the
Government of India to immediately sanction a compensation amount of Rs 25,000
each to all registered FCV tobacco growers for their very survival.”
“Failure
to bail out the current duress for tobacco farmers will force many of them into
debt trap which will virtually kill the ecosystem comprising of marginal
farmers, workers, and people employed in handling and transportation activities
while pushing the farmers to extreme measures”, he further added.
Mr. Murali Babu, General Secretary, Federation of All India Farmer
Associations (FAIFA), said, “We request Smt. Nirmala Sithraman, Hon’ble Finance
Minister, Government of India to intervene with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and
the State Level Bankers’ Committee to reschedule the crop loans for next 2-3
seasons and allow the farmers' to repay the loan amounts in splits of 30% each
per season while continuing the sanction of the regular seasonal loans. The
decision will benefit millions of FCV tobacco farmers, their families and
workers dependent of the industry, as they are already staring at burden of
huge interests of non-institutionalized loans.”
FAIFA
has also demanded for a comprehensive FCV Tobacco Production plan for 2020-21.
Tobacco Board should make more efforts to promote Indian exports studying
opportunities arising out of COVID 19. Based on the current International
trends, it is essential to be prepared with an action plan for the next season
by assessing domestic/export market trends considering actual Traders indents.
In
this backdrop, with folded hands, we request the Government of India to
implement our request and “Protect our Livelihood”.
.JPG)
