Hyderabad: Agriculture is the only sector that has withstood the negative impact of the country Covid-19 pandemic in the state, which is making significant progress. Reflecting the vision of Prime Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, the state government has set aside more than 25 000 million euros for the agricultural sector, including 5 225 million for the waiver of crop loan in the state budget for 2021-22. The state government wants to give the agricultural sector a impetus with the emphasis on modern cultivation methods, farm mechanization and market-driven production.
In his budget speech, T Harish Rao, Minister of Finance, stated that the progressive measures of the state government to rejuvenate agriculture and related sectors have borne fruit since the formation of the state as it played an important role even during the difficult times of the Corona pandemic. He said the sector was very progressive and that the annual cultivated area increased from 1.41 hectares acre in 2014-15 to 2.12 acres in 2020-21, with an increase of more than 49 per cent. Similarly, crop production almost doubled from 2.5 tons tons in 2014-15 to an estimated record production of 4.11 tons tons in 2020-21.
‘The farmers in Telangana last year produced crops worth Rs one lakh. The state has also made significant progress in the cultivation of cotton and has shown the second largest cotton-producing state in the country with the cultivation of 60.54 lacquer hectares, ”he said. The Minister added that in 2020 Yasangi season Telangana delivered 64 lakh tons of paddy to the Food Corporation of India (FCI), which is 56 percent of the total paddy purchased by FCI.
Harish Rao stated that Prime Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, as a farmer himself, instilled confidence in farmers through innovative programs like Rythu Bandu, Rythu Bhima, etc. Establish what received appreciation from the United Nations. The programs launched in Telangana have become role models for the whole country. He said the state government is spending 10,500 million euros to provide uninterrupted quality and free power supply to farmers. In addition to providing the fertilizer and urea in a timely manner, the state government has focused on rejuvenating the tanks and thus improving groundwater levels. At the same time, the construction of the irrigation projects is in full swing.
Incentives for oil palm cultivation
To increase the farmers’ income, the state government decided to promote the cultivation of oil palm in 8.14 lakh acres in the state and consequently drew up a comprehensive plan. To encourage farmers to start cultivating, the government will provide a subsidy of 30 000 Rs per acre and also take steps to ensure that the balance’s input costs are covered by bank financing to cover the immediate burden for the farmer to reduce. India now imports palm oil worth Rs.70,000 crore a year. By cultivating it, we will not only realize huge savings in foreign exchange, but also 30 years of good yields for farmers. The state government has formulated a comprehensive plan to provide farmers with all the facilities needed for the cultivation of oil palm, ”he added.
Rythu Vedikalu and drying platforms
The state government built 2 601 Rythu Vedikas at a cost of R 572.22 million to facilitate meetings between farmers to discuss general issues within six months last year. During fiscal 2021-22, the government will build 750 million RN drying platforms to meet the needs of one-off farmers.
Farm mechanization and food processing industry
The government stressed the need to adopt new agricultural practices in line with the changing situation, and decided to promote farm mechanization. Consequently, the government decided to financially support the farmers to enable them to acquire modern farm machinery and allocated R 1500 million to encourage mechanization. Over the past five years, the state government has provided 14.644 million subsidies for farm mechanization and also spent another 951 million euros to provide tractors, other farm machinery and tools. The government has also decided to promote food processing units throughout the State. In principle, it was decided to promote these units through self-help groups, which would not only improve the income of farmers, but also provide large-scale work in rural areas.
Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima
Both Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima appear to be the most important pillars for the agricultural sector in the state. The Rythu Bandhu scheme, launched in 2018, has become a role model for the whole country. Currently, the government is offering Rs 10,000 per acre per year for two harvest seasons. The state government did not stop the aid under Rythu Bandu, despite the weakening of state finances due to the Corona pandemic. At the amount of 14 736 million spent during the 2020-21 financial year, an estimated 14 800 Rs was set aside for the scheme for 2021-22. About 35.911 million was spent on the scheme during the last three fiscal years which benefited 59.25 lakh farmers, with about 90 percent small and marginal farmers.
In 2021-22, the state government set aside another amount of R200 for Rythu Bima scheme in the direction of an insurance premium that insured the insurance of Rs 5 lakh. About 1,141.4 million was spent on the insurance premium in 2020-’21 and offers the insurance to 32.73 lakh farmers. In the past three years, the insurance amount of 2 328 million was paid to 46 564 farmers.
Development of the dairy industry
Harish Rao said that dairy development is just as important as agriculture for rural development, and said that the Telangana government has turned the dairy sector into a cash cow by providing the necessary support to the cooperative dairies and incentive of Rs 5 per liter to give for milk purchased by these dairies. It has also revived the Telangana Vijaya dairy by improving its operational efficiency. “The daily average procurement of milk by the Telangana Vijaya dairy increased from 1.27 lakh liters in 2014 to 2.89 lakh liters this year. Similarly, the Vijaya dairy, which was in debt after the formation of the state, holds R30 million in hand, and holds fixed deposits of 58.5 million. It has a turnover of 676 million, ‘he said. Approximately 1730 million has been allocated for the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries.
Source: Telangana Today