Telangana farmers in deep distress

World Bank report says paddy, red gram, soya bean and vegetable farmers were most hit due to monsoon failure consecutively for two years

Hyderabad: The World Bank has in a report said that paddy, red gram, soya bean and vegetable farmers are in deep distress in Telangana due to monsoon failure for the past two years.

The report prepared by the international agency in coordination with the state-owned SERP (Society For Elimination of Poverty), an official implementing agency for several World bank funded schemes, said that paddy farmers cultivating in one to three acres in Nalgonda, Khammam, Mahbubnagar and Warangal districts suffered huge losses due to crop failure due to natural calamities for the past two consecutive years.

Most of the farmers had fallen into debt trap as they took loans on high interest from private lenders, says the report. Taking serious note of farmers’ suicides, a SERP official said the bank had identified 150 most sensitive mandals where the farming community will be provided assistance under the Telangana Rural Inclusive Growth Project (TRIGP) taken up recently at the cost of Rs 650 crore.

The project will be implemented in 30 mandals each in Adilabad and Mahbubnagar, 19 in Nalgonda, 18 Warangal, 16 Khammam, 10 Karimnagar and seven mandals in Medak district. Under the project, technical support will be extended to the farmers in increasing productivity through sustainable agricultural techniques and create marketing facilities to their produce ensuring remunerative prices.

TRIGP consultant Francis Verghese told The Hans India that the project targets to enhance the income of 2.75 lakh farmers by improving market access through producer organizations in 2879 gram panchyats and 10,621 habitations . The official claimed that the initiative will definitely provide relief to the distressed farmers in the coming days.

Vegetable producer organizations have already been constituted in 14 mandals, soya bean producer organizations in five mandals and in six mandals red gram organizations were formed. Livestock producer organizations involving sheep, backyard poultry and dairy farmers were also started operations giving big relief to the distressed farmers.

Besides providing succor to the farming community, the project has also taken up human development activities by increasing health and nutrition levels among poor farmers and SC and ST communities. It also aimed to promote all villages under the projects as ‘Open Defecation Free (ODF)’ villages by 2020.