Pockets full, Telangana farmers now ready for sowing

Armed with passbooks and financial aid under Rythu Bandhu Scheme, farmers of Telangana are all set for Kharif season.
Pockets full, Telangana farmers now ready for sowing

HYDERABAD:  Karimnagar 

The three acres of cultivable land that 60-year-old Sadaveni Shankaraiah of Vallampahad village of Karimnagar owns has brought him Rs 12,000 this Kharif season. He says, “The scheme has come at the right time as I was struggling for loans from bank, and was planning to approach a money lender.

The amount will be useful in purchasing farm inputs,” he said. The 60-year-old shared that with the onset of sowing season every year, he would plunge into depression owing to the lack of financial aid. “This amount can now be utilised for either purchasing farm inputs or for hiring labourers. I hope the State continues this scheme forever,” he says.

Every season he produces nearly 30 quintals of paddy. “If the government also provided MSP, and subsidised seeds and fertilizers along with the financial aid, farmer problems would be solved,” he added. 

Khammam
In the previous years, Bandi Krishnaveni of Kandukur village in Vemsoor mandal has struggled for arranging money for farm inputs. Running from pillar to post to borrow money from private money lenders, she would often end up in debts.

But, with new pattadar passbook and a cheque of Rs 20,000 (for her five acres of land), she is a happy woman now. “This money has come as god-sent gift to me. I am relieved as I was just planning to approach a money lender this time,” she said.

With the State incentive this year, the woman farmer is confident now. “I had to face several problems earlier as people would often try to interfere in my land records. With new pattadar passbooks, even that problem is solved,” adds Krishnaveni.   

Warangal Urban
Come sowing season, chaos becomes common. Right from the banks to the doorsteps of privates money lenders, farmers can be seen queuing up for loans. The waiting period at the banks seems to go on till eternity, thanks to the outdated passbooks owned by farmers.

But this Kharif season onwards, things are set to change in Telangana. Meet 45-year-old T Nageshwar Rao, a farmer of Arepally village in Warnagal Urban district. Earlier, he reminisces, he had waited in queues at banks for days at stretch with his old passbook to get rectifications made.

Under the State government’s flagship programme - Rythu Bandhu Scheme - Nageshwar Rao received not only a cheque for Rs 32,000 but also a rectified passbook making it easier for him to procure additional inputs for agriculture.

Peddapalli

Ask Maisaiah how important can Rs 4,000 be for a farmer. You’ll find the answer in the joy-filled eyes of this 80-year-old farmer. Owner of an acre of land in a village of Pedapalli, the octogenarian received Rs 4,000 under the RBS scheme.

In the previous years, getting money for farm inputs had been a difficult task for Maisaiah, but this time he is relieved, thanks to the financial aid. “The money will go a long way in helping farmers,” he said.

As someone who has been practising agriculture for over six decades now, Maisaiah said no government in past had cared as much for the farmers as TRS.  He plans to use the Rs 4,000 to purchase fertilisers and seeds, and he suggested that farmers be ensured a Minimum Support Price. 

Adilabad

For 50-year-old farmer G Prameela of Talmadugu in Adilabad, this Kharif season has brought in some relief compared to previous years. With Rs 16,000 on hand — the investment subsidy for her 4 acres of land — Prameela can now focus entirely on farming with no tension about money. “Despite being a small amount, this will be useful for me,” she said.

She also received a new pattadar passbook and is planning to approach the bank for a farm loan. While she feels that several other women farmers like her will be benefitted by the scheme, she wants the State to also devise a mechanism for Minimum Support Price.

Nirmal 

A Jaithrao, a 45-year-old tribal farmer from Kalvathanda in Dilawarpur mandal of Nirmal, has received Rs 14,000 as financial assistance for his 3.3 acres of land. The farmer, beaming ever since he was given the cheque, sums his happiness in simple words “I don’t have to run to money lenders anymore.

Jaithrao cultivates paddy and cotton with great difficulty every year. “I had to struggle to raise money for purchasing fertiliser earlier,” he says. However, one thing Jaithrao feels lacking is the assurance of MSP. “If government provides MSP, farmers will not have to look for loans,” he said. 

Bhadradri Kothagudem

With a cheque in one hand and a new passbook in another, Chenchala Krishna, a farmer of Narasapuram village in Bhadradri Kothagudem district finds it difficult to control his happiness.

All praise for the State government, he says, “No government in the past provided financial assistance to farmers. I am grateful to the chief minister for helping the farmers,” he says. Krishna, who owns an acre of land, has been cultivating paddy in the previous years, and the Rs 4,000 that he received, he said, would be used for ploughing land. “I am glad that the government came to the rescue of small farmers like me,” he added. His wife Savitri, who assists him in the field, said that it is a welcome move as no government came to the rescue of farmers in the past.

Warangal Rural

Finding money for purchasing farm inputs had been a challenge for 46-year-old farmer H Chander Rao of Damera village of Warangal rural every year. But this karif season he looks relaxed and happy as under the scheme he received Rs 8,500 for his 2.5 acres of land.

Chander Rao cultivates cotton and like all farmers, depends on money lenders. “The scheme is a boon for me and my family. All the money I borrowed would go into repaying the money lenders. This year, I may save a good amount,” Chander said. He also expressed happiness over the issuance of new pattadar passbooks.

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