Anantapur farmers might not get adequate compensation for the loss they have suffered in groundnut cultivation due to excessive vegetative growth and inundation during the incessant rains during the south-west monsoon season, going by the results of the Crop Cutting Experiment (CCE) made in the district. Farmers in only 33 of the total 63 mandals in the district will be eligible for crop insurance payout or input subsidy by the State government.
The crop cutting experiment is done to estimate the crop production of a particular region and calculate the claim of insurance. The actual yield of a crop in a given area is determined on the basis of CCE, and the difference between threshold and actual yields is taken into consideration for payment of crop insurance.
The CCE was done at two locations each in 377 villages in the district selected by computerised randomisation. The average yield in 199 villages was found to be below the district average.
However, since mandal is taken as a unit, only 33 mandals showed below-average yields of 455 kg per hectare. The rest showed a higher yield. As against the last three years’ average yield of 608 kg per hectare of groundnut, this year the average yield of 754 locations was 455 kg per hectare.
Seeking justice for farmers, TDP district president Kalava Srinivasulu on Thursday asked the YSRCP MLAs to get an assurance from Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to get at least ₹2,500 crore as compensation for groundnut crop loss as against the ₹397.85 crore calculated by the officials.
The TDP leader warned to launch a massive agitation if the majority of the farmers were left out when it came to sanctioning of input subsidy.
“The YSRCP government has already stopped payment of ₹918 crore input subsidy for 2018 kharif that should have been paid by June 2019,” Mr. Srinivasulu pointed out.
Meanwhile, all the YSRCP MLAs from the district made a representation to the Chief Minister in writing, seeking better compensation to farmers. They said the CCE was not a scientific method and thousands of farmers were left out when it came to payment of compensation.
The Agriculture Department has calculated input subsidy as ₹15,000 per hectare and for the damaged crop in 33 mandals, it has been put at ₹397.85 crore.