Department of Agriculture

Agriculture is on the top of the State Government agenda and all our efforts are being made to increase productivity and areas especially under food grains while ensuring that the income of the farmers goes up.

Departmental activities

• The District comprises of 5 Agriculture Divisions, 23 Mandals and 67 AEO Clusters with strong man power resources i.e Assistant Directors of Agriculture, Mandal Agricultural Officers and Agricultural Extension Officers respectively.
• The Department of Agriculture is strengthened by increasing the field staff so as to deliver timely services to the farming community.

The Department is extending all possible support and means towards development of the livelihood of the farmers.

Mandal Agricultural Officers are provided with Laptops and Agriculture Extension Officers are provided with personal Tabs for recording crops cultivated, Farmerwise data collection and updation of details of farmers under Rythu Bandhu.

Schemes Information:

• Soil Health Card scheme is implemented by analyzing the soil samples collected in farmer fields in phased manner in Soil Testing Labs and Mini Soil Testing Kits thereby ensuring Soil Test based fertilizer application.
• Subsidy Seed Distribution: Seed being the critical input is planned in sufficient quantities for supply to the farmers on subsidized rates. Subsidy seed Plan for Vanakalam and Yasangi is prepared Village wise and crop wise by Agricultural Extension Officers and Mandal Agricultural Officers. Subsidy seed distribution is done through online Subsidy Seed Distribution System (OSSDS) where in Mandalwise allotment of seed is done in the portal, AEOs will generate permit slips and PACS will issue seed after collecting the non subsidy portion from the farmers.
• Seed Village Programme: Foundation seed is supplied under Seed Village Programme for producing quality seed and supply to the neighbouring farmers at affordable prices which will increase the production and productivity and improves the economic growth of the farmer.
• Fertilizer Supply and Distribution: Fertilizer is the most critical and costly input for sustaining agricultural production and ensuring food security for agriculture based economy. Fertiliser allocation is made by the Department to the District based on the season wise and crop wise requirement. The sale of fertilizers is made mandatory through PoS machines only based on Aadhar card of the farmers. The Aadhar enabled Fertilizer Distribution System (AeFDS) will effectively monitor the distribution of fertilizers across the value chain from manufacturers till farmers under integrated Fertilizer Monitoring System (iFMS).
• Plant protection: Plant protection needs greater attention to prevent yield loss due to incidence of pests and diseases. This is achieved through timely intimation of plant protection measures to the farmers through print and electronic media as well as capacity building programmes.
• Quality Control of Seed: A focused annual target of seed samples is fixed on prorata basis out of which 80% samples will be drawn during Kharif and the remaining 20% will be drawn during Rabi under Law Enforcement Category and action in case of substandard seed will be dealt under applicable provisions of seeds act, 1966. All the Seed Inspectors will inspect regularly to ensure proper maintenance of records and to curb the illegal activities like black marketing and hoarding.
• Quality Control of Fertilizer: Fertilizer, an essential commodity and is a critical input in crop production. The Fertilizer Control Order 1985 and Fertilizer Movement Control Order, 1973 regulates the quality and movement aspect of the fertilizers, to ensure supply of quality fertilizers to the farming community. For ensuring quality fertilizer supplies to the farmers, Fertilizer Inspectors draw samples from Dealer outlets and tested for nutrient content and physical purity.

  Quality Control of Insecticides: As part of regulation of pesticides and facilitating the availability of pesticides to the farmers, annual target of chemical pesticides and bio-pesticides is allotted to the Insecticides Inspector i.e., Agricultural Officers under Insecticides Act, 1968.

• Credit: Credit is the prime mover of any development process and more particularly in agriculture. The Government is implementing interest free crop loans to all the farmers upto Rs.1lakh under Vaddileni Runalu scheme and Pavala vaddi for crop loans from Rs.1lakh to 3lakhs if repaid in time. Wide publicity is given among the farmers about VLR and Pavala vaddi, scale of finance.
• Crop Cutting Experiments: CC experiments are conducted by AEOs as primary worker in villages under PMFBY and the results of which will form a basis for estimation of production and productivity.

  Procurement Centers: In order to ensure MSP to the farmers, Agriculture staff are involved in procurement operations particularly Paddy in addition to Maize and Cotton. MAOs and ADAs shall monitor the procurement of FAQ Paddy at PPCs and also stream line the arrivals of Paddy at PPCs by sensitizing the farmers in the feeder villages of PPCs to mitigate the overcrowding and congestion problems to farmers.

• Rythu Samanvaya Samithis: Rythu Samanvaya Samithis are formed to organize the farmers and bringing them to common platforms so as to share the best practices, implement the Crop Colony approach and to enhance their negotiating power to ensure MSP or better price for their commodities. There are 24 ZRSS members, 552 MRSS members and 5253 GRSS members are nominated in the District.
• Farm Mechanization (FM): Farm Mechanization helps in increasing production, productivity and profitability in agriculture by achieving timeliness in farm operations, bringing precision in placement of inputs, reducing input losses, increasing utilization efficiency of critical inputs i.e., seed, fertilizer, irrigation water etc. Various farm implements/ machinery i.e., animal drawn implements, tractor drawn implements, mini tractors, plant protection equipment, intercultivation equipment, HDPE tarpaulins and establishment of Custom Hiring Centres for Paddy Land Preparation, Cotton, Maize, Paddy Harvesting Package are supplied to farmers on subsidy to the farmers.
• Rythu Bandhu Scheme (Agriculture Investment Support Scheme): The Government of Telangana is implementing Rythu Bandhu Scheme for relieving the farmers from debt burden and investment support of Rs.5,000/-per Acre is given to farmers for purchase of inputs like seed, fertilizers, pesticides and for other investment in the field operations for the crop season.

  Rythu Bandhu Farmes Group Life Insurance Scheme (Rythu Bima): Rythu Bima is implemented to all the holders of Pattadar passbooks and RoFR title holders in the age group of 18-59 years would be covered under this scheme and sum assured of Rs.5 lakh would be paid on death due to any cause and Government will pay the premium in respect of members @Rs.2,271.50 per annum per member including GST from 14-8-2018 to 15-8-2019 and administered through LIC of India.

• National Food Security Mission (NFSM) is implemented for increasing production of Rice, Pulses, Oilseeds and Cotton through area expansion and productivity enhancement in a sustainable manner. Restoring soil fertility and productivity at the individual farm level and enhancing farm level economy are the other objectives of the scheme.
• Paramparagath Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY): To address the major problem of Soil Health Management,
• Paramparagath Krishi Vikas Yojana scheme with the objective of sustainable and ecofriendly model of chemical residue free agricultural production. Organic farming is promoted in 13clusters comprising of 50Acres in each cluster.
• Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is under implementation to provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any notified crop as a result of natural calamities, pests and diseases. Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance scheme (RWBCIS) aims to mitigate the hardship of the insured farmers against the likelihood of financial loss on account of anticipated crop loss resulting from adverse weather conditions relating to rainfall, temperature, wind, humidity etc.
• Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana (PMKMY): PMKMY is implemented to provide old age pension to the Small and Marginal Farmers. Farmers in the age group of 18-40 years who collectively own cultivable land upto 2 ha. as per land record of the concerned State would be eligible to subscribe to the scheme subject to certain exclusion criteria. The PMKMY provides for an assured monthly pension of Rs.3000 to SF/MF farmers on their attaining the age of 60 years.
• Pradhan Mantri Klsan SAmman Nidhi (PM-KISAN): PMKISAN is for augmenting the income of farmers by providing income support to all landholder farmer families. Under the scheme, financial benefit of Rs.6000/- per year will be provided to all farmer families.

  Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA): ATMA scheme aims at making extension system farmer driven and farmer accountable by disseminating technology to farmers and to operationalize the extension reforms on a participatory mode.

District agriculture Officer,

Bhadradri kothagudem District.