State Prospers Only if Farmers Reap Benefits: AP CM YS Jagan

Rayadurgam (Anantapur district): Rythu Dinotsavam was celebrated in the State on a grand note to mark the birth anniversary of Dr YS Rajasekhar Reddy with Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy showcasing Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs) as a module of one-stop-shop for all farmer needs.

Addressing a public meeting here on Thursday, the Chief Minister recollected the revolutionary changes brought in by Dr YS Rajashekar Reddy in the agriculture sector and strongly believed that the State prospers only when the farmer reaps profits. He said that drawing inspiration from his father, the State government had brought in 10,778 Rythu Bharosa Kendralu (RBKs) as a revolutionary step that acts as a one-stop-shop to address all the needs of farmers across the state. The RBKs has ushered in a bright change in the lives of the farmers as they assist farmers in every step from the purchase of seed to the sale of their final product.

In earlier days, farmers were most affected by production cost, natural calamities and lack of remunerative prices for their produce earlier, but through RBKs all those problems were resolved. Getting rid of the supply of spurious seeds, fertilisers and pesticides, RBKs have been providing government-certified quality seeds, fertilisers and pesticides at farmers’ doorsteps, besides renting out farm equipment at nominal prices.

Furthermore, he stated that RBKs are also serving as crop purchase centres like a marketplace and intervene if farmers don’t get a remunerative price, where the government had Rs 6600 crore, towards the procurement of the crops excluding paddy. He said that RBKs are also facilitating crop loans and insurance registration through e-cropping and have been supporting the farmers at the village level.

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said that in his two-year governance, an unprecedented amount of Rs 17,029 crore was credited to the unencumbered bank accounts of 52.38 lakh farmers under the YSR Rythu Bharosa scheme by providing Rs 13,500 to each farmer. The farmer-friendly government had spent Rs 83,000 crore towards farmer welfare in the last two years and utilised Rs 8670 crore on farmer fraternity.

The Chief Minister asserted that he kept every promise made to the farmers during his 3648 km padayatra to better their lives. Like never before by any State government, the current government has been compensating for the crop damage at the end of the season and also providing timely insurance for the crop damage.

Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated an Integrated Agri Lab at Rayadurgam Market Yard and then laid the foundation stone for several development projects worth Rs 1570 crore that benefits farmers. Also, the Chief Minister had inaugurated a newly built Rythu Bharosa Kendram in Udegolam village and planted a sapling on this occasion, visited the stalls and also interacted with the farmers for a while.

Ministers Kursala Kannababu, Malagundla Shankara Narayana, Seediri Appalaraju, Botsa Satyanarayana, Government Whip Kapu Ramachandra Reddy, District Collector Nagalakshmi Selvarajan and others were present.