Potato Farmer Earns Rs 490 For 19 Tonnes Of Potato, Sends Money To PM

An angry potato farmer, who sold 19 tonnes of potatoes for a meagre amount of Rs 490, sent this little earning to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express his discontent. Pradeep Sharma, a resident of Barauli Ahir village in Agra, wanted to protest against his meagre income for the amount of produce he shed his sweat for.

Angry at the government’s apathy towards farmers, Pradeep sent Rs 490 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by money order as a sign of protest. He also alleged that corruption within the agriculture department in relation to the crop insurance.

‘Wrote letter to PM, but no reply’

“I have been facing losses year after year (for four years) while growing potatoes. I had to seek permission for euthanasia from the President and the Prime Minister in July, but there was no result,” Sharma said after sending the money order on Tuesday, reported Hindustan Times.

Pradeep alleged that he has been writing to the President and the Prime Minister again and again but to no use. He even showed the receipt from the postal department that he got after sending the money order to PMO.

He also alleged, “The central government has promised to enhance income of farmers by 1.5 times, but corruption in the agriculture department has foiled all the plans for welfare of farmers who are deprived of insurance claims.” He said that he has paid a huge amount for the insurance money.

Pradeep further said that he did not disrespect the Prime Minister, but he just wanted to remind him the reason why he was elected in the first place. Farmers spend around Rs 500-700 per quintal to grow potatoes and they receive a minimum support price of Rs 549 for it. This meagre amount does not even cover the production cost.

Recently, Sanjay Sathe, a resident of Niphad tehsil in Nashik district had produced 750 kgs of onions this season. Sathe was offered only Rs 1 per kg at Niphad wholesale market. After negotiating, he sold 750 kgs of onions at Rs 1,064. Each kilogram was priced at Rs 1.40.

As a mark of protest, Sathe donated the entire amount of money to the Disaster Relief Fund of the PMO. He had to pay an additional amount of Rs 54 to send it by money order on November 29.

Also Read: Maharashtra: Rs 1,064 For 750 Kg, Angry Onion Farmer Donates The Amount To PM’s Relief Fund