Jagan calls for tangible change in the agricultural sector

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said the change is visible through Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBK) from supplying quality seeds to selling produce in addition to providing insurance cover and electricity free nine hours.

Summarizing the short discussion on agriculture and allied sectors at the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly here on Wednesday, the Chief Minister said that the RBKs were the most tangible units at the village level which provide many services to farmers and assured that the state has not and will not collect any additional money on meters attached to farm engines and it helps provide quality power to farmers for nine hours during the day.

Stating that all the promises made in the manifesto to farmers have been kept, the chief minister said that nanotechnology would soon be implemented and about 2,000 drones would be put into use to spray pesticides in a scientific way.

All the social protection schemes aim to benefit farmers with land ownership of less than three acres who form 87 percent and many of them are also beneficiaries of other schemes under Navaratnalu.

Taking a dig at Chandrababu Naidu, he said the opposition leader is synonymous with drought and in the past three years all water bodies including major rivers are full of water and the groundwater levels have swelled while agricultural produce has increased dramatically.

YSR Rythu Bharosa-PM Kisan, Insurance Scheme, Zero Interest Scheme and Input Subsidy in addition to RBKs have been very helpful to farmers. In the 10,778 RBKs, trained people were working to guide the farmers and people from NITI Ayog, World Bank and FAO also visited them to study the operation. Lab to land, YSR Yantra Schemes, Calamity and Price Stabilization Funds have played their part in times of crisis, he said.

The government is committed to the welfare of farmers and will continue its proactive role in promoting agriculture and related sectors, he said.