A.P. State Agriculture Mission vice-chairman M.V.S. Nagi Reddy on Sunday exhorted farmers in distress to approach his office instead of taking the extreme step.
“Like the previous government, the YSRCP dispensation will not try to sweep farmer suicides under the carpet. The government will go to the rescue of the bereaved families and ensure timely relief,” Mr. Nagi Reddy told the media here.
He said the State Farmers’ Day would be celebrated on Monday, coinciding with the birth anniversary of former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who had etched a permanent place for himself in the hearts of the farmers.
Compensation
A compensation of ₹7 lakh each would be paid to the bereaved farmer families in a time-bound manner. Relief would be provided to all the families as decided by the three-man committee constituted for the purpose, he added.
Seed shortage
“I have urged Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to set up the mission’s office outside the Secretariat so that it is easily accessible to each and every farmer,” Mr. Nagi Reddy said, adding that a host of problems faced by the farmers from the stage of sowing to marketing would be addressed swiftly.
Putting the blame on the previous TDP Government for the present seed shortage, he said, “Efforts are on to ease it from sourcing seeds from wherever available. We will plan in advance from the next cropping season to ensure timely supply of farm inputs, including fertilizers and pesticides, to the farmers.”
The Tenancy Act would be amended so that the benefits of Rythu Bharosa scheme was extended to the tenant farmers also without affecting the interests of the landlords, he said.
The YSRCP government would accord top priority to the irrigation projects taken up during the YSR tenure, including the Veligonda project.
The Polavaram project would be completed within the next three cropping season, and the first phase of the Veligonda project in one year. To start with, drinking water would be ensured to the fluoride-affected areas in Prakasam district through the first phase of the Veligonda project, he added.
The government would ensure remunerative price for growers with a ₹3,000 crore market stabilisation fund. With another ₹1,000 crore allocation under the Natural Calamity Fund, timely relief would be ensured to the farmers who had lost their standing crop, he said.
