Sop showers await farmers

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is set to announce major sops for farmers at a public meeting to be held on the concluding day of a three-day farmers’ conference in Mahbubnagar on Saturday.

The launch of the much-delayed Rythu Bharosa scheme extending Rs 7,000 per acre as input cost, extension of farm loan waiver scheme, remunerative prices for more agricultural products, etc, are likely to be announced at the meeting, likely to be attended by over one lakh farmers from across the state.

The Agriculture department has sent a detailed note on the requirement of funds to implement the Rythu Bharosa scheme and the completion of farm loan waiver to the Chief Minister and the latter already gave his approval to implement the schemes in tune with the recommendations made by the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Rythu Bharosa.

Official sources said the government was planning to introduce the Rythu Bharosa scheme during the Sankranti festival in January. The Cabinet Sub-Committee has recommended to the government to extend the scheme benefit to the farmers who possessed the farm land below 10 acres. Earlier, the scheme benefit was given to all the farmers irrespective of the extent of the land they owned. In view of the financial crisis after implementing the farm loan waiver scheme for which the government spent nearly Rs 18,000 crore recently, officials said that the Rythu Bharosa benefit has not been released in the current farming season and the government was planning to extend the benefit from the next agricultural season.

Providing remunerative prices to selected crops, including horticulture, was also under consideration. The Congress has made the promise of good returns to the farm produce in its election manifesto and the government was mulling to introduce a new scheme. The issue of extending annual financial benefit to the tenant farmers would also be resolved and the CM is likely to make a statement in the public meeting, sources said, adding that the CM was holding a series of meetings with the officials of the Agriculture department to sort out the pending issues regarding the farmers’ welfare.