Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has got an invitation from the United Nations Organisation to speak on the topic: “Financing sustainable agriculture: Global challenges and opportunities,” at the UN General Assembly at New York on September 24.
The chief minister’s office has claimed that he had got the rare opportunity to speak at the UNO for his immense contribution to promoting zero-budget natural farming in the state by spending Rs 2,500 crore ever year, as reported in a special story in the New York Times.
Well, Naidu has mastered the art of getting publicity not only at the state and national level, but also at the international level. But the ground realities are different.
While New York Times knows about Naidu’s “rigorous efforts” to promote organic farming by spending Rs 2,500 crore every year and his plans to promote organic farming in 60 lakh acres by 2024, the local farmers have absolutely no idea about such efforts being made by the Naidu government!
“This is ridiculous. It only shows how Naidu can mislead even the UNO with his publicity articles in the media. Everybody knows the agriculture sector has suffered heavily during Naidu regime and pushed the farmers into a debt trap. In which part of the state has Naidu promoted organic farming?” asked YSR Congress party farmers’ wing leader M V Nagi Reddy.
He wondered whether Naidu had the eligibility to get international honours in agriculture sector, as he had been out and out anti-farmer right from the beginning.
“He has cheated farmers with crop loan waiver. Even one-fourth of the loans were not waived, while the interest burden continued to mount. There has been no nine-hour power supply to agriculture sector free of cost. He has not implemented Swaminathan Committee report on food security and set up any market stabilisation fund to ensure remunerative prices to farmers,” Reddy pointed out.
He said only 300 farmers in only 1,000 hectares have been doing organic farming in both the Telugu states put together.
“It is ridiculous on the part of Naidu to claim that he is promoting in 60 lakh acres,” Reddy criticised.
