Pest-hit blackgram farmers to get input subsidy

Minister for Agriculture N Raghuveera Reddy on Thursday acceded to demands by opposition parties to provide input subsidy for blackgram farmers who lost their crops due to pest attacks.

Mr Raghuveera Reddy said that compensation would be provided to farmers in East and West Godavari districts as per Central Relief norms.

Mr Reddy’s announcement came after heated exchanges were witnessed over the issue during Question Hour in the State Assembly.

Earlier, Telugu Desam Party Member V Jageswara Rao raised the issue. The Minister replied that crop loss in the Godavari districts was not due to seed quality but because of Yellow Mosaic Virus Attack even as the opposition members contended farmers had lost their crops due to supply of a particular variety of blackgram seed which had no resistance to viral attack.