Rs 3,262 crore given to 34 lakh farmers in past five years: Jagan

Vijayawada: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has said his government distributed Rs 3,262 crore to 34 lakh farmers despite the iterations of drought in the past five years.

“We provided timely assistance to every farmer in a transparent manner free from corruption and discrimination,” the Chief Minister said while distributing input subsidy of Rs 1,294.58 crore to 11,61,000 farmers, who suffered due to lack of rainfall in 2023 and from Cyclone Michaung in December last year.

Releasing the amount online from the camp office in Tadepalli on Wednesday, Jagan Mohan Reddy said Andhra Pradesh was the only state paying input subsidy to farmers for crop loss in the same season itself. Out of the Rs 1,294.58 crore, a sum of Rs 847 crore is being paid as input subsidy to 6,96,000 farmers hit by drought in 103 mandals across seven districts. The rest was paid to 4,61, 000 farmers who suffered crop loss due to the cyclone.

“In the last nearly five years, the government disbursed Rs 3,262 crore under input subsidy to 34.41 lakh farmers who lost their crops due to natural calamities. For the first time, the government has been handholding farmers at every step through RBKs and village secretariats. Crop loss compensation is made through e-cropping assessments and displaying the lists in a transparent manner,” he said.

This, he said, “helps farmers and would help the official machinery to make corrections so that farmers would not suffer any financial loss. The government has been taking several steps to avoid financial loss to farmers.”

Citing the Michaung cyclone, the Chief Minister said the government purchased 3,25,000 tonnes of discoloured paddy. Financial assistance under Rythu Bharosa is benefiting 87 per cent of the farmers who owned less than 1 hectare of land, as it helps them meet 80 per cent of the cultivation expenses.”

The Chief Minister said that while the previous TD government paid only Rs 3,411 crore to 30,85,000 farmers as crop insurance compensation during its five-year term, the YSRC government paid Rs 7,802 crore to 54,55,000 farmers in the last 57 months towards insurance.

The CM said, “I would like to inform every farmer to notice how many changes have come from the situation where there was no chance of getting insurance for the farmers who were unable to get loans. A positive trend was evident in these 58 months of the YSRC government.”

Agriculture minister Kakani Govardhana Reddy, chief secretary Dr K.S. Jawahar Reddy and other senior officials were present.