We want to see T sans farmer suicides: Pocharam

Hyderabad: Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy on Thursday reiterated that ultimate goal of the TRS government was to make Telangana a State sans farmers’ suicides. Pocharam, while addressing at the valedictory programme of the three-day 8th National Seed Conference at HICC, asked the farm scientists, stakeholders and officials to come out with suitable recommendations to prevent the agriculture woes of farmers and their suicides.

Interacting with 96 farmers who came from nine Telangana districts for the mega event, he asked them to take suggestions from experts before sowing seeds and prefer to take up alternate crops when need arises. Being the best place for seed production, Telangana will sure become a seed bowl of India if a perfect plan of action was implemented, he averred. Seeds will be purchased from the farmers under Buy-back Policy and would encourage them to go in for alternative crops through timely supply of power, water and seed, the Minister said.

Farmers asked the Minister to ensure the banks display the list of loans in accordance with the crops, crops with market demand and value, warehouses, subsidy for mobile seed and processing units, farmers association, sprinkler irrigation and timely loans. The TRS government was making every effort to stop farmers’ suicides, and waived off Rs 8,500 crore out of Rs 17,000 crore crop loans, Pocharam said, adding that India has a total number of nine crore peasant population, each of whom carrying a debt burden of Rs 47,000.