Investment is the surest way to enhance agriculture productivity and also income to the farmers, besides breaking the vicious cycle of rural indebtedness. In order to ensure that the farmers do not fall again in to the debt trap, a new scheme called “Agriculture Investment Support Scheme” (“Rythu Bandhu”) was implemented.
Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao announced the distribution of Rs.5,000 per acre farm investment support under the Rythu Bandhu scheme to over 65 lakh eligible farmers for the Yasangi (Rabi) season, which could bring joy to farmers across Telangana in the New Year. Beginning December 28, the funds will be deposited into the farmer’s bank account.
The Chief Minister also directed Finance Minister T Harish Rao and other officials to release Rs.7,600 crore in this regard, with the funds disbursed before the January Sankranti festival.
Over the nine seasons since the Rythu Bandhu scheme’s inception in 2017, nearly Rs.57,881 crore has been deposited into farmers’ bank accounts. Farmers will receive approximately Rs.65,500 crore at the end of the latest instalment. Farm investment support will be deposited into the bank accounts of farmers with one acre or less first, followed by those with larger tracts of land in a phased manner.
Officials were directed to ensure that the Rythu Bandhu amount is deposited into farmers’ bank accounts without any cuts.
Rythu Bandhu scheme
The Rythu Bandhu farm investment support scheme was launched by the Chief Minister five years ago with the goal of providing Rs.4,000 per acre per season, which was later increased to Rs.5,000 per acre per season, for a total of Rs.10,000 per acre per year. The scheme, which is credited with bringing about a revolution in the agricultural
sector of the country, is yielding excellent results.
Rythu Bandhu is the country’s first direct farm investment scheme, inspiring several states and the union government to follow suit. The Telangana government strengthened the Rythu Bima scheme by providing free irrigation, electricity, and insurance coverage to all farmers. This caused a paradigm shift in agriculture, with Telangana emerging as a paddy production leader.
During the current fiscal year, the union government imposed cuts to Telangana totaling Rs.40,000 crore in terms of funds released and loans borrowed for the implementation of various development schemes and programmes. Despite the Centre putting up roadblocks and failing to release funds owed to Telangana on time, the
State government is sticking to its promises, particularly those made to farmers. As a result of the Chief Minister’s pro-agricultural vision, farmers in other states are now demanding similar schemes from their respective state governments.
