Hyderabad: In a major push to agriculture and its allied sectors, the state government has proposed to allocate Rs 72,659 crore in this year’s budget.
“Everything else can wait, but not agriculture,” deputy chief minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said, quoting former prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in his budget speech, as he announced the lion’s share for the agriculture sector on the floor of the assembly during the budget session on Thursday.
Accusing the previous government of spending Rs 80,440 crore on Rythu Bandhu to benefit many ineligible persons, owners of fallow lands, realistic businessmen etc, Vikramarka said that as a result, precious taxpayers’ money was wasted.
“In fact, they have violated the rules framed by themselves for the scheme. Our government has replaced the Rythu Bandhu scheme with Rythu Bharosa with an intention of benefiting the real farmer. We have increased the financial assistance under this scheme to Rs15,000 per annum per acre, for which the guidelines are to be framed. A cabinet sub-committee has been constituted, which has toured various districts and consulted farmers, experts and intellectuals,” Vikramarka said.
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He also spoke about the new scheme of extending Rs 12,000 per annum to agricultural workers having no land from this year onwards, and the decision to extend crop insurance to farmers under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana (PMFBY), for which the state government itself will be paying the insurance premium on behalf of the farmers.
He also said that the state government has identified 33 varieties of fine-grain rice, and has announced a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal for these varieties. With this incentive, he felt that the farmers would be encouraged to take up cultivation of the fine grain varieties due to an assured price from the government.
Vikramarka said that the state government was encouraging the cultivation of oil palm by setting a target of extending its cultivation to one lakh acres this year.
In order to bring awareness among farmers on the latest technology, and to share the experiences of progressive farmers with other farmers, the ‘Rythu Nestham’ programme was organised in collaboration with the scientists of Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agriculture University (PJTGSAU).
Some of the proposed allocations for agriculture and its allied sectors
Farm loan waiver: Rs 15,470 crore
Crop insurance (Fasal Bhima Yojna): Rs 981.11 crore
Farmers’ life insurance (previously Rythu Bhima): Rs 1,167.92 crore
Rythu Bharosa for farmers with land holdings: Rs 11,395.50 crore
Rythu Bharosa for landless agricultural workers: Rs 905.64 crore
Market intervention (bonus for selected crops): Rs 1,358.46 crore
Extension and farmers’ training: Rs 3.5 crore
Technological advancement: Rs 29.80 crore
Agricultural research and education: Rs 415.87 crore
Horticulture: Rs 737 crore
Animal husbandry: Rs 1,980 crore
Blast from the past
| Financial year | Budget estimates | Actuals spent |
| 2018-19 | Rs 16,895 crore | Rs 12,600 crore |
| 2019-20 | Rs 21,643 crore | Rs 15,421 crore |
| 2020-21 | Rs 25,148 crore | Rs 17,590 crore |
| 2021-22 | Rs 26,653 crore | Rs 19.554 crore |
| 2022-23 | Rs 26,974 crore | Rs 18,728 crore |
Percentage of budget allocation for agriculture and its allied sectors out of the total budget
2018-19: 10.9%
2019-20: 16.9%
2020-21: 15.7%
2021-22: 13.5%
2022-23: 12.4%
2024-25: 24.95%
