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Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad
By W. Chandrakanth
Continuous drought of three years had a crippling effect on the rural economy and the small and marginal farmers today are looking for subsidy. The Government's decision to offer seed at 50 per cent subsidy had an electrifying effect on them and they are now thronging the District Cooperative Marketing Society outlets with great hopes of procuring the quantity required by them. There are just 430 counters operating in the State now for selling subsidised seed to farmers. According to sources in the Agriculture Department, the demand-supply position is far from satisfactory due to various factors. For example, maize seed is concentrated in the hands of the seed companies and the authorities cannot ensure supply of any single brand of seed to farmers. The quantity of maize seed contracted by the Government till now is 39,000 quintals but only 10,000 quintals has been procured so far out of which 4,475 quintals has been sold. The demand for maize may shoot up further due to the shift from cotton to maize cultivation in some areas of the State. More than 1,200 hectares had been under cultivation in Chevella area of Ranga Reddy district but poor yields and lack of sufficient rain has now forced most of the farmers to prefer maize cultivation. The situation is going to be similar in many districts, officials fear. Likewise, for a demand of 2,000 quintals of bajra, only 525 quintals had been positioned by the authorities in the State out of which only 46 quintals had been sold so far. However, officials plan to divert most of the stock to Anantapur and Prakasam district. In case of greengram too, the department could procure only 4,860 quintals for a demand of 10,000 quintals and for a demand of 11,000 quintals of redgram, the authorities could secure only 3,446 quintals (812 quintals sold). The department had asked officials to procure castor seed from local sources if possible as it is dependent on Gujarat for the procurement of the seed. The message being conveyed to farmers is that they have to "manage locally'' or go for alternative crops. The problem lies here. There is no way that the Government could meet the demand as the official machinery does not seem to be geared up to meet the challenges without adequate stocks in controlling the crowds that throng them with receipts.
CM calls for report
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, said here today that the Sub-Inspector of Police could not handle the situation properly in Chevella where police firing and lathicharge resulted in injuries to several farmers. Speaking at a party meeting, he said he had asked for a report on the whole incident and would see that the erring officials are punished. He said the officials should have opened more counters for seed distribution to prevent a stampede. Mr. Naidu regretted that things had gone wrong in spite of precautions taken by the Government. Admitting that the Government is not in a position to meet the entire seed requirements of farmers, he said seeds for alternative crops could be supplied or money paid to farmers. He said the Chevella incident was a lesson that one had to be very careful in politics. A small lapse could be exploited by rivals for their gains, he added.
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