The Andhra Pradesh government will offer up to 13 services at the Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBK) that have been set up across the state. The RBKs are part of farmer welfare programmes being implemented by the YSRCP government, which includes periodic cash transfers and other support mechanisms. More than 10,500 RBKs have been set up, many of them at the village level.
These centres will have multiple functions in the future and will serve as godowns and cold storages for farm produce, as well as collection centres and marketplaces, the government said in a press release.
A review meeting was held on Thursday on the setting up of infrastructure at the RBKs. Speaking about the possibilities being explored, Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy said, “In order to double the income of farmers, we need to ramp up infrastructure around the RBKs, thereby increasing domestic consumption as well as demand for quality produce across the globe. Therefore, we have come up with the idea of setting up godowns, cold storages, drying platforms, Janata Bazars etc. wherever necessary. We will do whatever it takes to make the lives of our farmers better and sustainable.”
The government said that the RBKs will offer up to 13 different kinds of infrastructure services for farmers at the village level, depending on the local crop patterns and requirements. The services include godown facility, drying platforms for drying agricultural produce, collection centres, cold storages, custom hiring centres, primary processing centres, assaying equipment (to determine the quality of produce), Janata Bazaars, bulk milk cooling units, procurement centres and e-marketing. Cattle sheds and infrastructure for aqua farmers is also set to come up in a few select villages, as per the government’s plans.
E-marketing will be set up to allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere across the country, while Janata Bazaars will provide a platform for local sales. These multi-purpose facilities are set to come up adjacent to the RBKs at an estimated cost of nearly Rs 6,000 crores, the government said.
Agriculture department officials have proposed the establishment of a total of 5,531 godowns, cold storages and collection centers, 4,147 drying platforms, 4,796 threshers, 7,132 cleaners, 1,861 graders, 15,167 dryers, 654 dal mills, 100 turmeric boilers, 100 turmeric polishers, 29 chilly dryers, 816 maize shellers, and millet processing units.