VIJAYAWADA: The Agriculture Department is gearing up for the launch of the second phase of YSR Yantra Seva, under which tractors and other agriculture machinery will be provided to farmers’ groups (Custom Hiring Centres).
The second phase, which will be the final one, is likely to be launched in June. In the first phase, 60% of the targeted groups were given tractors and agriculture machinery. In the final phase, the remaining 40% will be provided with agriculture machinery at subsidised prices.
Speaking to TNIE, Special Commissioner of Agriculture Department Ch Hari Kiran said the total estimated cost of the second phase is anywhere between Rs 250 crore and Rs 300 crore and the subsidy amount will be Rs 120 crore. “Like in the first phase, farmers will be given the choice of selecting the brand of tractors and accordingly vehicles will be provided to the CHCs under different RBKs and clusters,” he said.
In the first phase of Yantra Seva launched in June last year, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy distributed 3,800 tractors and 320 combine harvesters to 3,800 Yantra Seva Centres (Custom Hiring Centres) and 320 cluster-level CHCs. He also credited Rs 175.61 crore as a subsidy into the bank accounts of 5,400 farmers’ groups in the State.
The Custom Hiring Centres are being run by farmers’ groups. The government will facilitate the provision of 50% of bank loans at a low-interest rate, besides providing 40% subsidy to procure farm machinery of their choice.
At a recent review meeting, officials informed the Chief Minister that under YSR Yantra Seva, 3,954 RBK level CHCs and 194 cluster level CHCs will be provided agriculture machinery. The primary objective of the Yantra Seva scheme is farm mechanisation to address the shortage of farm labour and the rise in labour costs.