Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, the chairman of the One-Man Commission on SC sub-classification, has encouraged farmers in Andhra Pradesh to take advantage of the many agricultural-related programs provided by the federal and state governments.

The OMC chairman visited Anumasamudram village in AS Pet mandal on Sunday as part of his two-day tour to the district. There, he spoke with SC community farmers who work the Community Joint Farming Societies (CJFS) farmlands in the area.

For the last 15 years, farmers have been growing commodities like mangoes and blackberries on 250 acres of CJFS property, they said Rajiv Mishra. They complained that even though they had secured a high return, they were losing money since there was no minimum support price. They urged him to draw the government’s attention to the problem.

In response to their issue, the OMC Chairman said that some of the causes of crop losses include a failure to use government programs and a reliance on intermediaries rather than contacting the local government when selling produce.

He informed them that because governments are spending crores of rupees on subsidies for this reason, it is imperative that they take advantage of the opportunity.