All thanks to the efforts and vision of CM KCR to make Telangana the rice bowl of India, Telangana is now the most improved state in agriculture. According to India Today’s ‘State of the states 2022: States of excellence’, Telangana is the most farmer-friendly state.
Telangana scored 275 points out of 320 to become the top state in agriculture. While Rajasthan with 223.1 points is at a distant second. Telangana jumped to the number one position from number two by replacing Madhya Pradesh which now stands in the fifth position.
Acknowledging the rapid growth of agriculture in the state, the report said, “Telangana is determined to earn the ‘rice bowl of India’ epithet in paddy procurement, surpassing Punjab, in a year or two. In 2020-21, it set a new record by procuring 141,000 crore tonnes. The state’s gross cropped area has gone up by 64 per cent from 13 million acres in 2014 to 21.5 million acres in 2021-22.”
The report credited the success to CM KCR’s initiatives who put farmers first in his governance. “A slew of initiatives by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has enabled this impressive growth. This includes irrigation projects, providing the Rythu Bandhu investment support, Rythu Bima insurance cover, uninterrupted free power supply and other measures,” the report said.
India Today also mentioned that crop yields in Telangana are ahead of the national average in most of the major crops and said the state has focused on irrigation and electricity to benefit farmers.
India Today magazine wrote, “The state spent Rs. 1.5 lakh crores on irrigation projects and Rs. 28,473 crores to improve electricity infrastructure, apart from providing free 24×7 power to agricultural connections at a cost of Rs. 10,500 crores.”
It added that Telangana is also the only state to invoke the Preventive Detection Act against suppliers of spurious seeds.
This report is a fitting testament to the fact that CM KCR is forging ahead to make farming profitable in Telangana and across the nation. And it proves that ‘Ab ki bar Kisan sarkar’ is not a mere slogan but KCR follows it in true spirit.