To make matters worse, when 4,500 of these workers went on strike for 13 days from November 27 to December 14, the administration refused to recognise them as their employees and chided them for creating a nuisance. Adding insult to injury, they were forcefully evicted from the strike spot on December 10, international Human Rights Day, on the eve of the TTD board meeting on December 11.

 https://thewire.in/labour/workers-at-tirumala-tirupati-devasthanam-allege-underpayment-mistreatment

 

The farmers say while there was a big hue and cry after the prices of tomatoes increased, nobody had bothered about their plight in the past, when there was a glut and produce had to be dumped for want of buyers.

 https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/climate-change/tomato-price-rise-farmers-in-andhra-say-that-is-only-part-of-the-whole-story-80540

 The situation was not much better before the pandemic. In 2019, the average household debt of farmers in Andhra Pradesh – Rs. 2.45 lakhs – was the highest in the country. The recently released Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land and Livestock Holdings of Households in Rural India, 2019 notes that 93 per cent of agricultural households in the state were in debt that year.

 https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/chittoors-tomato-farmers-at-a-thin-red-line/

The entry of corporates as the buyers of farm produce, in this case mangoes, overtaking the traditional mandi system, doesn’t seem to have benefitted the mango farmers in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. Claims to the contrary should be taken with a pinch of salt, says Mr Kumar Reddy, of the AIKS. 

https://www.theindiaforum.in/letters/corporate-entry-no-help-mango-farmers-chittoor-andhra-pradesh?

“Organic farming also needs scientific approach. There is no mechanism for recognition, certification of products grown by sustainable agri practices. There is no focus from the government on offering support. If that was the case, APCNF would have been implemented through the RBKs (Rythu Bharosa Kendras),” Ramanjaneyulu said.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/agriculture/has-bureaucratic-bungling-led-to-problems-for-natural-farming-scheme-in-andhra-pradesh-78847

 

 Explaining the dangers posed by sharing the farmers’ data, Vissa of the AIKSCC said, “The Goods and Services Tax office will not share data on the price that the trader sold the produce for after buying it from the farmer. Nor does the income tax department share data on whether the trader has incurred any expenses beyond his means which could lead to the farmer’s payment being delayed. All of this is the private data of individuals and firms which must remain private in a market where one cannot be put at a disadvantage compared to others.”

 https://thewire.in/agriculture/india-farmers-agristack-concerns-technology-agriculture

 

  Low sugar prices benefit companies producing packaged food and beverages, says Mangati Gopal Reddy, the state president of Federation of Farmers Associations. “The prices serve the interest of the large companies.” Companies producing soft drinks and confectionery have grown in the last three decades in the country and changed the pattern of sugar consumption. These bulk consumers use 65 per cent of the sugar produced, states ISMA’s report to the taskforce.

 https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/farmers-need-money-to-run-their-farms/