Naidu launches Farmers Empowerment Corporation

Hyderabad, Oct 21: Andhra Pradesh government today formally launched the Rythu Saadhikara Samstha (Farmers Empowerment Corporation) to provide agricultural debt redemption to farmers and also to act as a 'one-stop-shop' for farmer development, welfare and empowerment activities.

FEC's headquarters is located in Vijayawada. While the FEC has been started with a paid-up capital of Rs one crore, the government also released Rs 5,000 crore last night towards the agricultural debt redemption.

All eligible farmers who availed crop loans up to Rs 1.5 lakh would be covered under the debt redemption scheme. "We will initially pay 20 per cent of the entire loan outstanding to banks on behalf of farmers. Balance 80 per cent will be repaid in four installments.

We are working out details of the entire debt and the amount required to be repaid to banks upfront," Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said.

The FEC has been assigned a central role in the implementation of the Primary Sector Mission, formally launched in Anantapuram district by former President APJ Abdul Kalam on October 6, to ensure that agricultural development in the state receives a boost.

"The government has recognized that farmers' welfare and development activities at present are delivered by multiple entities that include different corporations, societies, etc, with suboptimal integration with the departments responsible for agricultural development," state Chief Secretary I Y R Krishna Rao said.

"Further, there is no empowered entity with the capacity and the wherewithal to effectively deliver all farmers' empowerment activities," he said.

After thorough consideration of all possible options, the government has decided to establish an integrated institutional mechanism for all programmes, schemes and activities intended for farmers' empowerment, encompassing welfare, development, capacity enhancement, credit flow, financial support and allied empowerment activities, he said.

The FEC would provide an integrated empowered institution that would be responsible for planning, implementing and monitoring of welfare, development, capacity enhancement, and other activities that would empower the farmers to achieve higher productivity and value addition to the farming sector.

It would assist, advise and provide inputs to the government for formulation of effective policies for the empowerment of farmers and for accelerated development of farming sector in Andhra Pradesh, the Chief Secretary said.

The Principal Secretaries of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Finance, Horticulture and Marketing and Co-operation departments would be the founder-directors of the Corporation.