The Andhra Pradesh government is making arrangements to provide seeds on subsidy to 17 lakh of the total 55 lakh farmers in the State. A um of ₹200 core will be spent on supplying of eight varieties of seeds, Andhra Pradesh State Seeds Developemnt Corporation Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Geddam Sekhar Babu has said.
Mr. Sekhar Babu toured several groundnut processing units on Wednesday, beginning with the one at the Kallur agriculture market yard. He said 6.64 lakh quintals of seeds of various crops including millets would be supplied during the kharif season through Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs).
“Farmers can register their requirements at the kiosks in the RBKs, where information about subsidised and non-subsidised seeds being supplied by the APSSDC is available,” said Mr. Sekhar Babu said. Joint Director Agriculture D. Chandra Naik and APSSDC district manager J. Dhanalakshmi were also present on the occasion.
Groundnut seeds are being sent to RBKs and the supply is expected to begin from May third week. The quantum of subsidy remains unchanged at 40%, while the price of the seed may come down marginally. The State government will soon announce the price and date of distribution soon, he said.
Of the 6.64 lakh quintals of seeds, groundnut accounts for 3.82 lakh quintal, followed by paddy (1.82 lakh quintal), green manure such as sun hemp and pilli pesara and etc (90,000 quintal), red gram (10,000 quintal), black gram (5,400 quintal), green gram (1,500 quintal) and millets (1,500 quintal) on 90% subsidy. The subsidy on millet seeds has been increased from 50% last year to 90% this year, following declaration of the Millet Mission by the government. The reduction of acreage in groundnut, he said, was due to crop diversification and shift to horticulture crops.
“We are in the process of testing and packing for pre-positioning of seed bags at RBKs. Once farmers get the Rythu Bharosa benefits in their bank accounts, the demand and booking for seeds through Krishi app will go up,” said Sekhar Babu.
Paddy will be supplied in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Parvathipuram, Visakhapatnam and the undivided Godavari districts and small quantities in Guntur, NTR, Prakasam, Palnadu, Bapatla districts.
