Coalition Government Committed to Farmers’ Welfare: Atchannaidu
The minister said the government ensured sufficient availability of urea for farmers
VIJAYAWADA: Agriculture minister Kinjarapu Atchannaidu on Tuesday said the coalition government is committed to farmers’ welfare and has taken several steps to ensure adequate fertiliser supply, financial support, crop insurance and price stabilisation.
The minister said the government ensured sufficient availability of urea for farmers. For Kharif 2025, against a requirement of 6.22 lakh metric tonnes, the state arranged 8.70 lakh metric tonnes, of which 7.50 lakh metric tonnes were sold. For Rabi 2025–26, 10.20 lakh metric tonnes were made available against the Centre’s allocation of 9.38 lakh metric tonnes, ensuring there was no shortage despite increased paddy and maize cultivation. Nearly 70 per cent of urea is supplied through 8,489 Rythu Seva Kendras.
Atchannaidu said the government is implementing the Annadata Sukhibhava–PM Kisan initiative, under which each farmer family receives `20,000 annually, including `14,000 from the state and `6,000 from the Centre under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. Landless cultivators also receive `20,000 annually from the state budget. For 2025–26, `6,300 crore was allocated and `6,309.44 crore has already been disbursed.
To support farmers affected by crop losses, the government increased the input subsidy for paddy from `17,000 to `25,000 per hectare and distributed `310 crore to nearly two lakh farmers since June 2024. Pending compensation of `5.67 crore to families of 81 farmers was also cleared.
The minister said the crop insurance system has been reviewed and reformed. The government is also processing claims for multiple seasons despite inheriting `1,990 crore in unpaid premiums.
He added that `588 crore was spent under the Price Stabilisation Fund to support farmers cultivating crops such as tobacco, mango, onion and cocoa. Efforts by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu also led to a market intervention price for chilli.
Atchannaidu said `13,858 crore was paid to farmers for paddy procurement during the 2024–25 seasons, while `10,571 crore has already been credited to over 7.31 lakh farmers in the current procurement cycle, with most payments made within 24 hours.
