Andhra CM Jagan releases Rs 2800 crore to farmers in 1st installment of Rythu Bharosa scheme
VIJAYAWADA: Reiterating that farmers’ welfare is the top priority of his government, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy released the first installment under the ‘YSR Rythu Bharosa - PM Kisan’ scheme on Friday during a video conference with farmers.
A total of 40 lakh farmers stand to benefit from the scheme and a total of Rs 2,800 crore was credited to their accounts at a time. Each farmer was credited Rs 5,500 out of Rs 7,500 as the first installment. Rs 2000 was already credited to their accounts as an advance amount in the month of April to help them deal with the COVID-19 crisis.
Under the scheme, each farmer stands to get Rs 13,500 per year and in five years, a total of 67,500 will be paid to them, not as a loan, but as investment help, so they can procure the needed farm inputs for the crops they cultivate. “Last year, we extended income support to 46,69,000 spending Rs 6,534 crore under the scheme,” the Chief Minister explained.
The second installment of Rs 4000 each will be extended to the farmers in October to help them invest in rabi crop, followed by Rs 2000 each as 3rd installment on Sankranthi. “62 percent of the population is dependent on agriculture. 80 percent of the farmers have less than 1-hectare landholding while 50 percent have less than half a hectare (1.25 acres). Hence it is imperative to lend a helping hand to them. How much ever we may give to the food growers, it is not enough,” he said.
To ensure no eligible farmer is left out, the names of the beneficiaries were displayed at village secretariats since April 24, he said. “If anyone has missed, they can apply. I will give another one month for them to apply,” he announced. He added unlike other states, tenant farmers, those cultivating inam lands, assigned lands, ROF are also being extended benefits of the scheme.
Bankers were asked not to adjust the amount to pending dues of the farmers and if the farmers face any problems in accessing their amount in the banks or if their amount was adjusted to old dues, they can lodge a complaint with officials through the toll-free number 1902 and officials in the CMO will address the issue. “My letter to the farmers will be given to them by the village volunteers who will collect the acknowledgments,” he said.
Emphasizing that only with farmers and farmhands welfare is development of the state possible, Jagan said on May 30 his government will complete one year and he is dedicating the success to the farmers. “To mark the occasion, we will launch 10,641 Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBK), which will be a game-changer in the rural economy,” he said
Further elaborating on RBKs, he said the centres which will herald changes in the social ecosystem will have an agriculture assistant, digital kiosks to disseminate information, provide quality seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides. “RBKs will help the farmers to decide what crops to be cultivated, when and to what extent, based on the market intelligence reports about the price. Further soil tests will be performed. They will also facilitate in getting crop loans through the e-Crop facility and also help in getting crop insurance,” he explained.
Pointing out that his government has set up a market stabilization fund of Rs 3000 crore, he said Rs 1,500 crore were already sent to assist the farmers in the time of crisis recently. Elaborating on how his government was helping the farmers by providing MSPs for the crops for which MSPs were not announced by the Centre, he said they have also decided to help the farmers benefit by 9-hour free power supply during the daytime.
“Already 82 percent of feeders in the state are ready and the remaining will be ready by the rabi crop next year. We have spent a total of Rs 1,700 crore on power infrastructure to make it possible,” he said
Agriculture Advisory Boards to be set up at state, district and mandal levels will be of great use and to ensure farmers sell their produce, vegetables, poultry products, aqua products, YSR Janata Bazaars will be set up by next year, he added. It will help in ensuring 30 percent consumption of the farm produce domestically, which in turn stands to benefit the farmers, he said.
“Agriculture is our priority and by God’s blessing, we had good rains, and the food grain production was 172 lakh tonnes compared to 150 lakh tonnes last year. I pray for more rains this year also, so we can have a bumper harvest,” he concluded.