GUNTUR: Fifty per cent of chilli growers are waiting for price assistance under market intervention scheme. Chilli trading is gradually gaining momentum in the Asia’s biggest chilli yard at Guntur with the bringing of chillis to the yard by the growers. The price assistance of Rs 1,500 per quintal would be in force till June 30. Hence, chilli growers are coming to the yard to get price assistance benefit.
The chilli growers lamented that there was too much delay in the sanctioning of price assistance. According to the reports, nearly 30,000 growers sold chillis under price assistance scheme but only 17,000 growers got it. As agriculture season started with the arrival of monsoon, the chilli growers are demanding speedy sanction of price assistance to start tilling activities.
There are 670 shops in the Chilli Yard for chilli trading and annual holidays were declared to the Chilli Yard from May 15 to June 4 and later the government cancelled the annual holidays. But there was poor response to trading activity and market resumed from June 5. The starting of rains is causing concern among the chilli growers and they are eagerly bringing chilli produce to the yard to sell it swiftly. Chilli growers who had already sold their produce were waiting for the subsidy.
Chilli growers N. Ramulu and others said that they have to start tilling and sowing works, making good use of the monsoon, but they did not get price assistance so far. They said that they submitted all required papers including crop certificates but they failed to get price intervention and sought sanction of price assistance to help chilli farmers.
The officials informed that as many as 29,412 chilli farmers who sold chilli produce were eligible to get price assistance of whom 17,183 chilli farmers got Rs 38.82 crores price assistance. Chilli Yard chairman M. Subba Rao said that they are taking measures to clear price assistance dues to the eligible chilli farmers and affirmed that price assistance would be given till June 30.
