Oil Palm farmers met the Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao

Honourable Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has announced that by coming year and year and half, efforts will be on to supply 24-hour power to the agriculture sector in the State. The CM said to solve the Minimum Support Price problem permanently, in the coming Budget Rs 500 Crore fund will be created and under the Famers Committees, the agriculture produce will be sold.

          Oil Palm farmers from Dammapeta Mandal in Bhadradri Kothagudem district, where a Palm oil Plant has began production, have met the CM under the leadership of Minister  Tummala Nageswara Rao, MLA Tati Venkateshwarlu here at Pragati Bhavan on Sunday. The farmers have thanked the CM for the setting up of the Palm Oil Plant at Apparaopet and felicitated him. They have invited the CM to formally inaugurate the plant. The CM has positively responded at their invitation. He said he would shortly inaugurate the plant. Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Mission Bhagiratha Vice Chairman  Vemula Prashanth Reddy, SC Corporation Chairman  Pidamarthi Ravi, Whip Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, MP

Balka Suman, MLCs  Balasani Laxminarayana, Karne Prabhakar and others participated in the programme.

          On the occasion, the CM addressed the farmers. “As on date, we are supplying 9-hour power supply to the agriculture. Some farmers are using automatic starters. They are drawing more water than required. This is causing a twin problem. Ground water level is decreasing and with more water than required even the yield is getting spoiled. Hence stop the usage of automatic starters. We will have adequate supply of power in a year or year and half. Then we will try to give 24-hour power supply. Farmers will be able to draw water whenever they needed,” the CM said.

          “After the formation of Telangana State, the state government has taken several measures for the welfare of farmers. Earlier, farmers used to suffer due to lack of seed and fertilisers. Their land used to turn arid patches due to lack of water. Now things are changing for the better. We are constructing irrigation projects. Through Mission Kakatiya we are reviving the tanks. We are giving 9 hours power supply. We have ensured that there is no scarcity of seed and fertiliser. We are constructing Godowns with a storage capacity of 21.5 Lakh Metric Tonnes. We are solving issues one by one,” the CM announced.

          “Now farmers have two major issues, one is input expenditure and the other is Minimum Support Price for the produce. For the input expenditure, the state government, last year itself decided to give Rs 8000 per acre irrespective of the crop to the farmers as input subsidy. A farmer may have hundreds of acres but yet he should not worry about the input expenditure. Farmers used to run from pillar to post during the scorching heat of Rohini Karte to raise loans. We have decided to give the input expenditure to the farmers to pull them out of the vicious circle of raising private debt. Now farmers in the Telangana state are out of the habit of raising debts for their input expenditure. Now farmers will be happy and if farmers are comfortable the entire village will be comfortable. The traditional trades dependent on the agriculture will also prosper. If farmer is a Planet and hereditary professionals are the satellites. The rural economy strength begins with farmers prosperity,” the CM observed.

          “Getting Minimum Support Price for the crop is another issue that is troubling farmers and this is a recurring problem. We have though about a solution to this problem. We will constitute farmers Assocation in the Mandals. From there we will form district and state level farmers federations. The Farmers Association will have the authority to fix the prices. The Farmers Assocation will discuss with the Mandal level traders and decided the price. All sales will happen based on this price only. In the coming Budget we will allocate Rs 500 Crore to the State Farmers Federation. It will intervene and give the difference of money when the rates or down to help farmer to get the Minimum Support Price. Stat-wide Crop Colonies will be formed with this fund. The agriculture scientists will decided on which crop to be cultivated based on the quality of soil, temperatures, weather, availability of water etc., Farmers should follow this advice. This will result in high yields. Gone those days where everyone will go in for the same crop. This will result in fall of the prices in the market and farmers are becoming enemy to the other farmer. Every one gets a good price through different crops cultivated under Crop Colonies. The state will also become self-sufficient in production. We will provide support to export the produce to other States and countries after consumption within the State,” the CM clarified.

          “We have passed Land Acquisition Act in the Assembly today. I am very happy. If the land acquisition process picks up the projects can also be completed faster. We have constructed Bhakta Ramadasu project in a record time. We will also construct Seetharama project on similar lines. Wit this, Khammam district will become fertile. We will complete all projects in the Telangana State and supply water to agriculture and there by develop it. With the removal of burden on input expenditure, ensuring Minimum Support Price to the produce and supply of water, agricultural activity in the State will become a festivity. There is no need to raise loans on debt for the input expenditure and there is no worry about the MSP. There are no problems of marketing. The farmer will become king and he will be economically stronger. The Bankers will make rounds around the farmers requesting him to take a loan. I am dreaming this situation. This dream will be realised. The way separate Telangana State dream is fulfilled this dream of making farmer a king will also be Realised,” the CM exuded confidence.

Palm Oil Plant

Apparaopet Village, Dammapeta Mandal, Bhadradri Kothagudem district.

Its capacity is 60 Tonnes per hour. Works on the plant started on April 18, 2016 and production started on April 29, 2017. It was constructed in one year at a cost of Rs 82 Crore.

NCDC—Rs 64 Crore, State government—Rs 10 Crore, Federation—Rs 7.40 Crore

In the first Phase, the capacity is 30 tonnes per hour

Khammam, Kothagudem, Suryapet farmers to get benefit. Presently, Oil Palm is cultivated in 30,000 acres spread in 26 Mandals

Palm Oil Plant in Aswaraopet will be modernized. New machines and Boilers will be set up at a cost of Rs 30 Crore.  For Aswaraopet and Apparaopet Plants Rs 100 crore is spent while no other government had spent even a single rupee. The State government has given Rs 13 Crore for both the plants. The state government stood as a guarantee to the NCDC loan. The Palm Oil price is increased from Rs 4,000 and 5000 to Rs 9,000 per tonne. Oil Palm farmers are getting good profits.  Farmers in Warangal, Nizamabad, Adilabad and Nalgonda district are showing interest in Oil Palm cultivation. It is better if the Palm Oil Plants are running under the government.