The details published in the article ‘One stop farm shop, a flop’ (businessline, September 7) on Rythu Bharosa Kendralu are factually incorrect. As many as 10,778 RBKs have been established in Andhra Pradesh and mere assessment of 15 RBKs in one district (Guntur) is inappropriate and doesn’t reflect the true picture about these institutions. Further, the requirements of the farming community vary from district to district and over seasons.

The decision by the Andhra Pradesh government to establish RBKs has revolutionised delivery of services. The four pillars of RBKs are: delivery of services; supply of quality inputs; capacity building and knowledge dissemination; and procurement operations.

Soil testing

The article states that the RBKs have failed to provide important services on soil health, which is far from truth. This year, in the months from April to June before kharif, 1.94 lakh soil samples were collected through RBKs and sent to integrated agri labs for testing. This is the highest number of soil samples collected by any State.

With the advent of RBKs, 21,731 agriculture/ horticulture/ sericulture/ fisheries/ animal husbandry graduates were employed in every village all over the State to provide extension services. These RBK field functionaries conduct regular field visits and guide the farmers on crop care and productivity.

The Department of Agriculture is adopting a unique biometric and GPS-based system of ‘e crop’ to book crop sown in each and every farm holding which is not possible without visiting farmer fields. In 2022-23, 158.03 lakh acres have been booked under ‘e crop’ with farmer biometrics. So far, 6,868 diagnostic field visits were conducted benefiting 1,34,547 farmers.

Before inception of RBKs, fertilisers were mostly available in towns and major panchayats and were transported to villages, involving additional cost and other incidental expenditure. This is estimated to be ₹20 per bag of fertiliser apart from wastage of precious time.

As fertilisers require larger space to store, the volume of distribution of fertilisers is increasing with the availability of storage space in villages. The State government has allocated storage space for 20 tonnes in every village secretariat building to store fertilisers. The Department has identified 2,794 village secretariats with storage space. About 5,000 more village secretariats are under construction. The government is constructing about 2,100 multi-purpose facilitation centres (MPFCs) in villages to facilitate the storage of various commodities.

Before 2019, the seeds were distributed in mandal headquarters, witnessing long queues, even raising law and order issues. After RBKs were established, subsidised seed distribution is happening through RBKs, saving time and efforts of farmers. The AP State Seeds Development Corporation Ltd has entered into MoUs with 39 reputed companies.

Digital kiosks

A digital kiosk is a standalone device that farmers use and interact on spot. It will provide services through customised apps. Weather forecast for five days is displayed in kiosks to provide accurate information to the farmers. Information related input sales, news feed, weather forecast, market prices at different markets in India, minimum support price, and tutorial videos on crop management practices are being provided to farmers through kiosks. Steps are being taken to designate RBKs as sub markets and integrate them with the existing system of e-NAM. Hence, the statement that kiosks’ information is not up to date as mentioned in the article is far from the truth.

RBKs deliver all services to farmers, from ‘seed to sale’. Procurement of their produce and timely disbursement of amounts is a critical last step in the chain. Since May 2020, 319 lakh tonnes of different agri produce (valued at about ₹61,400 crore) have been procured through RBKs from 34.75 lakh farmers.

The writer is Special Commissioner of Agriculture, AP Govt

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