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Rythu Bharosa Kendra (RBK) - Anantapur Photo: Zeya Irish · Pexels License · source ↗

Rythu Bharosa Kendra (RBK) - Anantapur

The Rythu Bharosa Kendra (RBK) is the village-level agriculture service institution introduced by the Government of Andhra Pradesh in May 2020. RBKs were launched as a single-window delivery point for inputs, advisory, procurement and government scheme services to farmers, with one RBK established per Village Secretariat. The Anantapur district network of roughly 1,000 RBKs is among the largest in the state because of the district's heavily rainfed, scattered settlement pattern.

Scope and launch

RBKs were rolled out in May 2020 across about 10,778 village clusters in Andhra Pradesh, co-located with the existing Village Secretariat. Each RBK is staffed by an Agriculture Assistant (or Horticulture/Veterinary Assistant depending on local cropping), an internet-enabled kiosk, a small input storage room and a price-display screen. The model has been recognised by the World Bank, FAO and NITI Aayog as a notable village-level extension delivery innovation.

Eligibility

Any cultivator in the village mapped to the RBK can register and avail services - landowner farmers, tenant farmers holding a Crop Cultivator Rights Card (CCRC), and family members under the household's land record. There is no separate eligibility for accessing extension advisory or grievance services; scheme-specific eligibility applies for benefits.

Benefit and service structure

  • Inputs: certified seed, fertiliser (urea, DAP, complexes), bio-pesticides and small farm tools sold at notified rates via the e-RBK platform.
  • Advisory: weather forecasts (with ANGRAU Agromet), package-of-practice advisories, pest and disease alerts, and soil-test recommendations.
  • Procurement: paddy, jowar, bajra, ragi, maize, redgram, blackgram, greengram and groundnut procurement at MSP through state-empanelled agencies routed through the RBK roll.
  • Scheme delivery: enrolment and grievance redress for Rythu Bharosa cash support (Rythu Bandhu Rythu Bharosa), PMFBY (Pmfby Crop Insurance), drought relief input subsidy (Drought Relief Input Subsidy Ap), crop insurance claims, and YSR Free Crop Insurance pay-outs.
  • e-Crop: real-time crop registration on the AP e-Crop platform that anchors all downstream entitlements.

Implementation

Anantapur district operates RBKs through the District Joint Director of Agriculture, with mandal-level Assistant Directors supervising Agriculture Assistants. The RBK ties into the State Drought Mitigation Cell (Ap Drought Mitigation Cell) during notified drought years and into the Neeru-Meeru (Neeru Meeru Watershed Ap) watershed roll. The kiosk integrates with e-NAM (E Nam Electronic National Agriculture Market) for nearby market price information.

How farmers engage

A farmer simply visits the village RBK; identity verification is via Aadhaar and the household land record. e-Crop registration is taken once per season per plot, which then drives entitlement for all downstream benefits. Grievances can be lodged at the kiosk and tracked online.

See also: Rythu Bandhu / Rythu Bharosa, AP Drought Mitigation Cell, Drought relief input subsidy, PMFBY.

Sources

  1. Rythu Bharosa Kendra portal. Government of Andhra Pradesh.
  2. Rythu Bharosa Kendras - PIB release. Press Information Bureau.