HYDERABAD: The finer details of the state government’s Rs 4,000 per acre farm input scheme are out.
Announcing how the scheme will be implemented, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said on Sunday that 1.42 crore farmers, who own 1.65 crore acres of farmland, will benefit from the state government’s scheme of providing `4,000 per acre farm input. An allocation of `12,000 crore will be made for this purpose in agriculture budget to be presented separately in the Assembly by agriculture minister.
KCR also announced that 1,61,000 people would be working as part of the samithis at all levels — village, mandal and district — across the state, and all of them would be from the TRS.
Speaking at a session organised for mandal and district level Rythu Samanvaya Samithis (Farmers Coordination Committees) from 13 districts of southern Telangana, Rao said the first payment as part of the farm input scheme to farmers would be made in May this year by bank demand draft and the subsequent payments would be made through prepaid bank cards. The first payment by DD is to prevent banks from taking away the farm input money of farmers who have farm loan dues.
Rich farmers who do not want the aid can give it up and that money will go into the account of Rythu Samanvaya Samithi. The total value of crops grown in Telangana stands at `1.25 lakh crore.
Rao said the samithis would have to play a major role in boosting agriculture and the standard of farmer’s lives. They are to prepare data, in coordination with AMCs, on the expected harvest and the plans of farmers to sell their produce so that they will be well-prepared to buy stock.
This is to avoid sudden rush or avert agitations at the markets.
The Chief Minister said that if commission agents at agricultural markets did not buy the commodities at prices higher than the minimum support price, the farmers can sell their stock to the Rythu Samanvaya Samithi which will be headquartered at Basheerbagh in Hyderabad. Rao said that for every 5,000 acres of farmland there would be a ‘Rythu Vedika’ which would be set up in AMC offices with computers. They will be tasked with the job of coordinating with the Rythu Samanvaya Samithis. The Vedikas have to figure out how many tools of farm mechanisation like harvesters, tractors and rotavators are available in their jurisdiction and ensure that every mandal will get 5,000 crop-planting machines on 50 per cent subsidy.