Loan waiver, input subsidy soon; Pocharam happy at good rainfall

Hyderabad, Sept.19: The State government was getting ready to release crop loan waiver towards the third phase and also input subsidy to the farmers in the State, Agriculture Minister said today. Addressing the media at Secretariat, Pocharam divulged the details at the SLBC Meeting in which the government asked the bankers to legitimately give loans to the farmers. The government will soon release Rs 2100 crore towards crop loan waiver and Rs 700 crore towards input subsidy, the Minister maintained. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has agreed to release these funds, he added. Expressing satisfaction at the good rainfall and expansion of crops to more than 80 per cent, the minister appealed to the farmers to avoid paddy and prefer to sow in the irrigated dry crops instead of rain-fed crops in Rabi season in Summer. The Bankers, who gave Rs 11,556 crore out of Rs 17,460 crore so far, have agreed to give the rest of about Rs 6000 crore, he said. The bankers were asked to be generous in this regard, and as many as 22 lakh out of 36 lakh farmers received loans, he said. Srinivas Reddy said the State received 717.0 mm rainfall as against normal rainfall of 664.3 mm by September 19. Except paddy sown in 67 per cent, there was better sowing of crops being encouraged by the government to include maize in 190 per cent, red gram in 167 per cent, green gram in 160 per cent, black gram in 146 per cent, Soyabean in 148 per cent, turmeric 95 per cent, chilli 92 per cent and corn in 72 per cent. Referring to his recent US tour to study modern agricultural practices, Pocharam said the State government was ready to exchange of students, technology, modern agriculture practices with that nation.