Telangana: Hike in Agri Allocations Gets a Thumbs Up

Hyderabad: Agriculture has received a huge increase in budgetary allocations at Rs.72,659 crore with loan waiver and rythu bharosa getting a major chunk of resources. This amounts to 24.9 percent of the total budget of Rs.2.91 lakh crore.

Welcoming the move, Dr. K. Suhasini, senior professor and head of agriculture economics at Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, said, “This is a good move in view of the fact that 47.35 per cent of the population relies on agriculture for its livelihood. Moreover, a major chunk (42.66 per cent) of the allocation will go for farm loan waiver relieving them from debts.”

The break-up of allocations to the agriculture sector are farm loan waiver Rs.26,000 crore, Rythu Bharosa Rs.15,075 crore, Rythu Bharosa for farm labourers Rs.1,200 crore, Rythu Bima Rs.1,589 crore, crop insurance Rs.1,300 crore, paddy bonus Rs.1,800 crore, electricity subsidy Rs.11,500 crore, irrigation Rs.10,829 crores and other schemes Rs.3,366 crore.

Prof. Suhasani said capping the Rythu Bharosa scheme for five acres will not affect 88 per cent of farmers and suggested wide consultations. Tenant farmers and farm labourers should be identified and brought under the ambit of the scheme, she said.

The government can consider extending Rythu Bharosa, which is basically an investment support in the form of seeds, fertiliser and the likes so that the money is not used for other purposes. Plans for expansion of oil palm areas to one lakh acres under the National Mission on Edible Oils- Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) were welcomed. Processing plants should be established in the vicinity of the fields. The bonus of `500 for fine rice varieties is a welcome move, she added.

Telangana Rythu Sangham, while welcoming the allocations and loan waiver, said in a release that the government should look at farmers, who are getting the benefit though they availed loans within that period. It took objection to limiting the benefit of bonus to just 33 varieties that have been identified by the state government. Approximately, 70 per cent of paddy that is grown is of coarse varieties.

Facilities should be provided in markets to prevent paddy from getting wet when it rains. Priority should be given to medium and large irrigation projects that are almost 70 to 80 per cent complete. At least, 256 lift irrigation projects, which can irrigate one lakh acres, are not working. Allocations to horticulture should be doubled from the present `737 crore. Dairy farmers should get subsidies, said T. Sagar, secretary of the sangham.