Peasants in Prakasam district are in for a serious trouble as the prices of subabul, eucalyptus and casuarina logs continue to rule low despite increase in demand for paper. It was unfortunate that the Agricultural Mission, which paid attention to market intervention for conventional crops, had left in the lurch farmers in the social forestry sector, complained Lok Satta Party leader Ch. ‘No option’“We will have no option but to uproot the trees if they are not offered at least ₹4,000 per tonne,” said a social forestry planter J. Venkateswara Rao from Jagarlamudivaripalem village. Eucalyptus alone is grown in 1.10 lakh acres, subabul in 67,000 acres and casuarina in 9,000 acres in the district. The district accounts for 43% of the cropped area under the social forestry plantations in the State.

Source: The Hindu January 25, 2020 14:15 UTC