The Telangana government has claimed that the effective implementation of Rythu Bandhu scheme and other measures initiated by the State government resulted in the sharp decline in the number of farmers’ suicides in the state between 2017 and 2019.
The government’s claim is based on a statement made by Union minister for agriculture Narendra Singh in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, based on the report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on the farmers’ suicides, in response to a question raised in the Lok Sabha.
The Union minister inform that around 5,957 farmers committed suicide in 2019 across the country. Of them, 491 cases were recorded in Telangana, which is a sharp fall compared to the number of suicides of 846 farmers in 2017.
State agriculture minister S Niranjan Reddy said the Telangana Rashtra Samithi government’s efforts had paid off in bringing down farmers’ suicides in the State.
He stated that Telangana recorded lowest number of farmers’ suicides among the major States in the country.
“Due to the vision of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, Telangana implemented novel schemes like Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima which instilled self-confidence among farmers to lead their lives. He strongly believes that only agriculture sector can strengthen the rural economy which in turn can strengthen the nation,” he said.
The minister said while successive governments in undivided Andhra Pradesh neglected the agriculture sector on which about 60 per cent of the State population was dependent, the Telangana government gave it highest priority.
Besides Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima, the State government was also providing free and uninterrupted power supply, constructed irrigation projects and was also purchasing crops. He said people who had quit agriculture were returning to their farm lands with renewed hope.
“With increased cultivation area and high yield, Telangana recorded 20 per cent growth in agriculture sector as well as 17 per cent growth in primary sector even as the national economy suffered severely due to the Covid-19 pandemic during last year,” he added.