KCR unveils the farmer Inside
HYDERABAD: Who said agriculture is not remunerative? TRS boss K Chandrasekhar Rao, who owns a 60-acre farm at Erravelli in Medak district, says no profession can match cultivation in terms of monetary benefit if done using modern technology.
A political firebrand, Chandrasekhar Rao claims he is doing wonders by adopting modern techniques in cultivation. the TRS boss spared a few hours to take scribes around his farm and explained what it takes to grow crops.
In complete departure from his regular political avatar, the pink party boss, wearing a cowboy hat, described how he has been trying to prove farming is also a lucrative profession.
On the 60 acres, KCR is now growing potatoes in 42 acres and colour capsicum in 10 acres, using drip irrigation. He is confident he would get a revenue of `10 crore this year on colour capsicum, whereas he is expecting `1.7 crore on potato.
Like every successful farmer, KCR too was attracted to agriculture during his childhood. 'My father was a farmer. He was considered the most successful farmer in our area (Medak district). Naturally, I also developed interest in agriculture as I grew,' said the TRS boss.
According to him, though he had bought the 60-acre land at Erravelli long ago, he could not convert into a farm as he was busy with the Telangana movement.
However, after his son KT Rama Rao's return from USA seven years ago, KCR had got an opportunity to make his dream of owning a farmstead a reality. KCR started doing farming on the land three years ago. During the initial days, he availed agricultural loan from Bank of Baroda.
Rao, who is growing crops using greenhouse technology and drip irrigation method, says at first he had obtained `1.5 crore loan from the bank to set up the greenhouse. He repaid the loan very soon as he made huge profits from the first crop itself.
MECHANISED FARMING
KCR said he would try to implement mechanised farming (which he is adopting on his farm) in Telangana to make the new state a role model for other states. According to him, governments nowadays are not creating awareness among peasants on how to avail bank loans to implement modern technologies in farming.
Hence, after the formation of the T-state, he would try to ensure that the government will encourage greenhouse cultivation. 'In the T-state, mechanised farming will be implemented as a pilot project in 20 select villages in every district,' he said.
FARMER-WORKER BOND
KCR says mechanised farming, along with modern technics like greenhouse and drip irrigation, allows utilising the total land area, irrespective of proper irrigation facilities. This in turn provides livelihood to workers and develops bonding between farmers and farm labourers.
For instance, KCR's farmland is providing livelihood to as many as 60 families of agricultural workers. The TRS boss has provided them free accommodation by constructing quarters in the farmland, apart from purchasing cattle for them with the profit he had got from the crops.
LAND FOR DALITS
Reiterating his promise of providing three acres to each Dalit farmer in the T-state, the TRS chief said he would ensure that the government of Telangana state would provide them training in scientific agriculture methods to achieve large yield.
News Posted: 3 January, 2014
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