Rythu Bharosa Kendras to procure produce directly from farmers now
VIJAYAWADA: In tune with Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s vision, the Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKS) are all set to emerge as the one-stop solution for the farmers, be it purchasing seeds and pesticides or selling their produce.
The State government on Tuesday issued orders designating RBKs as procurement centres for all the agricultural commodities, including horticulture crops, to ensure remunerative prices to the farmers.
The AP Civil Supplies Corporation, Markfed, Oilfed and Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) will coordinate with the agriculture department to ensure that the procurement is taken up to benefit farmers.
Around 62 per cent of the State’s population is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture. To extend various services to the farmers, including farm advisories, quality farm inputs, the State government had set up 10,641 Dr YSR Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs), linking them with village secretariats.
“The RBKs will also function as procurement centres in the future,” the Chief Minister had said during the launch of RBKs on May 30, 2020, marking the first anniversary of his government. Today, nearly five months after his announcement, orders were issued making RBKs procurement centres.
The department of agriculture is the nodal agency for registering all crops being cultivated by farmers in the state, season-wise, in e-crop application. Village Agriculture Assistant/Village Horticulture Assistant/ Village Sericulture Assistant will register actual cultivator-wise, crop-wise details along with the variety and date of sowing of all the crops.
This data will now be the single source of information for all MSP procurement operations being carried by the government agencies.
The department has been asked to provide information on RBK-wise crops to all the procurement agencies.
In the Order issued, special chief secretary (agriculture) Poonam Malakondaiah asked the stakeholder departments to organise extensive awareness on FAQ norms at RBK level and said procurement agencies concerned should prepare short videos on FAQ norms of the produce they are intended to procure on MSP. RBKs will play these videos for sensitising the farmers.
Further, the stakeholder departments were also asked to coordinate with the procurement departments to organise farmers’ registration, generation of coupons and distribution to the farmers at RBKs only and procurement should be done at farm gate level by the procurement agencies with advance intimation to the farmers concerned.
One-stop centre 10,641
RBKs in the State
62 per cent of State’s population is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture and associated activities
Department of Civil Supplies, Markfed, Oilfed and CCI will be coordinating with the agriculture department to ensure that the procurement operations are taken up to benefit farmers
Terms of payments towards the procurement of the produce from the farmers will be publicised at RBKs by the procurement agencies
RBKs will also display the list of farmers from whom they have procured and payment made