Hyderabad: Agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao has clarified that the government would give Rythu Bharosa amount of ₹7,500 from the Rabi season and complete the loan waiver for the remaining farmers by December. “Modalities for waiving loans up to ₹2 lakh will be issued soon. We are ready to spend ₹31,000 crore. There has never been a waiver of ₹2 lakh loan anywhere in the country. Even when the Centre under UPA waived loans, it was ₹70,000 crore for the entire country. All of this is being done despite financial constraints,” he explained addressing the media at the BRKR Bhavan on Saturday.
“Parties which never implemented waivers like BJP and BRS and which left half of the farmers without the benefit have no moral authority to criticize us; 22 lakh more farmers are yet to get the waiver. We have identified three lakh more families who do not have ration cards and the benefit will be extended to them. This will cost another ₹2,500 crore,” Tummala said. He made it clear that Rythu Bharosa will not be given to barren lands and the areas that are not cropped; and their government doesn’t want to waste public funds of ₹25,000 crore like the previous government.
The minister informed that the Centre was buying only 25 per cent of the pulses purchased by the state government at MSP. The state government is encouraging private companies to start crop insurance schemes. “Unlike in the past, the scheme will be applicable for all farmers and not limited to those who avail bank loans,” he said.
Earlier, speaking at the International Nutri Cereal Convention 6.0, the minister informed that the usage of millets has fallen from nine million tonnes in the 1980s to 4.5 million tonnes now. The average consumption of millets in the state currently stands at 20 gm per day. “Millets need 70 per cent less water and give good produce without using fertilizers and pesticides. The government is ready to collaborate with the Indian Institute of Millet Research (IIMR) by providing subsidies and training farmers. We are encouraging private millet processing companies. Efforts are underway to give impetus to them in place of processed food,” he said.
