Jayasurya.
Credit: Instagram/@actor_jayasurya
The Kerala government faced an embarrassment on Wednesday when actor Jayasurya, invited as a chief guest at an agricultural fest in Kochi for Onam, slammed the authorities over the delay in settling the dues of around Rs 240 crore to 27,000 farmers for paddy procured six months ago.
Finance Minister P Rajeev and Agriculture Minister P Prasad were reportedly left red-faced on the dais.
Farmers in Kerala have been outraged over the delay in disbursing dues for paddy purchased months ago. They also held protests on Onam.
Jayasurya said the farmers were forced to stage a stir on the festival day due to government delays. Mentioning the plight of actor-farmer Krishna Prasad, he further stated that the hardship of farmers would discourage future generations from entering the agriculture sector. He also expressed concern over the lack of proper testing facilities to ensure that consumers received high-quality food.
Following the actor's remarks, the agriculture minister stated that the state government was in the process of settling the dues. The government is raising loans to pay the dues to farmers owing to the delay in getting the payments from the Centre, he said.
Farmers' associations alleged that the government has so far paid only 28% of the total cost. Over 27,000 farmers with a due of over Rs 50,000 were only paid Rs 7.92/kg with Rs 20.4/kg still pending, they lamented.