Farmers in Bukkarayasamudram questioned the State government’s lack of initiative to provide compensation to them for the groundnut crop they had lost in the kharif last year and also not providing remunerative price for their produce.
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A groundnut farmer, Nagamuni, from Siddharampuram in Bukkarayasamudram mandal on Tuesday asked Ambati Krishna Reddy, Agriculture Advisor to State Government, for compensation for the loss of groundnut crop to farmers in their mandal.
The farmers said only little groundnut crop was procured from the farmers out of the kharif yield, which had led to enormous loss to the community.
“During crop cutting exercise, instead of 15 bags (45 kg each) of yield per acre, we got only 2.5 bags in the mandal and 5 in the district this time, but the government did not intervene to procure the yield. The cost of cultivation has increased manifold and currently around ₹25,000 was needed to grow groundnut in one acre and the yield does not cross 450 kg, thus leaving nothing in our hands,” another farmer said during a review meeting held at the Bukkarayasamudram MPDO office.
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While Assistant Director of Agriculture Venkataramana explained how farmers were losing insurance money despite crop loss due to flawed parameter of taking only weather-based statistics, but not the yield, Mr. Krishna Reddy said the government had paid ₹960 crore as compensation and asked the farmers to register their crop through e-Crop and receive all benefits.
Many of the mandals in Anantapur district received 30mm excess rainfall, but that turned to be detrimental for the groundnut crop, the Agriculture Officer explained. Joint Director Agriculture B. Chandra Naik said 865 RBKs coming up in the district would go a long way in ensuring quality seeds and cheaper fertilizers to farmers in one place.
Bukkarayasamudram Tahsildar Mohammed Basha and MPDO Tejoshna along with Assistant Director Horticulture Satish attended the review meeting.