Hyderabad: Providing relief to farmers who have suffered significant losses as a result of the unseasonal rains for the past week, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Tuesday announced that the state government will purchase damaged and soaked paddy stocks currently lying in market yards at MSP (minimum support price).
In an appeal to farmers not to be worried, the CM directed officials to take prompt action to purchase such paddy stocks at MSP.
He also directed officials to conduct a study on the feasibility of advancing the rabi season so that it ends in March, so that the unseasonal rains do not damage the crops.
At a high-level meeting with ministers and senior officials held at the newly inaugurated Secretariat office on Tuesday, the CM reviewed the situation arising out of unseasonal rains and hailstorms that caused extensive damage to standing crops and paddy stocks lying at government procurement centres.
The CM appealed to the farmers to postpone paddy harvesting for three or four days in the wake of weather officials predicting rains for four more days in the state.
He also directed the agriculture department to conduct a thorough study on preparing farmers to advance rabi sowing season to ensure that harvesting is completed before March, as opposed to now, when farmers harvest crops in April and May, when the state is witnessing unseasonal rains and hailstorms, causing farmers massive losses.
By advancing the rabi sowing season and ensuring harvest before March, the problem of broken rice could also be resolved, he said. Rao said that a higher quantity of broken rice will be produced from the paddy harvested in April and May due to the severe heat prevailing in these months. The Centre will not procure broken rice and it will cause losses to both the state government and the farmers.
Rao directed the agriculture department to organise extensive outreach programmes to sensitise farmers on advancing the rabi sowing season. He asked them to utilise Rythu Vedikas to hold meetings with the farmers and sensitise them on changing agriculture methods.
Rao directed Chief Secretary A. Santhi Kumari to conduct surprise inspections of Rythu Vedikas in districts to find whether agriculture officials were available to farmers in Rythu Vedikas.
The CM reminded that the state government announced '10,000 per acre compensation to farmers who suffered losses due to unseasonal rains and hailstorms in March. He directed officials to submit reports on crop loss due to recent rains and hailstorms to enable the government to take a decision on extending compensation accordingly.
