Amaravati, Mar 18 (IANS): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday launched a Rythu Bharosa Kendram (RBK) channel or an exclusive farming channel to continuously inform and enlighten farmers about farming and weather conditions.

"RBK channel is launched to provide information to farmers on crops and weather conditions. As Smart TVs are being set up in RBKs, the RBK Channel would help the farmers to get continuous information on the precautions to be taken while farming and information on weather conditions," said Reddy.

Similarly, the chief minister said that a toll free number, 155251, has been set up to address specific problems raised by farmers at the RBKs.

He instructed the agriculture minister and secretary to come up with a system to address the doubts of farmers in RBKs in an interactive manner with scientists, as he launched the channel virtually.

Besides the channel, Reddy reviewed rabi crop procurement and preparations for kharif 2021 - 22.

He highlighted that RBKs have be set up to support farmers in all activities ranging from sowing seeds to selling the crop and added that new buildings are being constructed for RBKs in the villages with an idea to make them a permanent fixture for farmers.

The CM exhorted that farmers should not be cheated when it comes to buying seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and others through RBKs and said that the state government has been testing the products at RBKs to guarantee quality with government certification stamp on it.

According to the CM, the government aims to make orders available to farmers in the villages within 48 to 72 hours of placing them.

"Agriculture assistants are working from RBKs and e-cropping is being registered at the same place. The poster with details of minimum support price for any crop within the RBK's limit is displayed in the RBK," he noted.

In the event of any farmer facing the difficulty of being compelled to sell his produce at a price lower than the minimum support price (MSP), Reddy said such a farmer can register his complaint with the RBK, whose details will be uploaded by the agriculture assistant in CMAPP.

"Marketing department would intervene and ensure the crop is sold at a fair price, if not it should procure the crop from the farmer directly. All this process will be done under the purview of the joint collector," he observed.