A concerted effort is needed by scientists, agriculture officials, and farmers to make farming a profitable venture, A.P. State Agriculture Mission Vice-Chairman M.V.S. Nagi Reddy has said.
Mr. Naggi Reddy inaugurated a cold press oil mill on the premises of Agriculture Research Station at Rekulakunta in the presence of Acharya NG Ranga Agriculture University Vice-Chancellor A. Vishnuvardhan Reddy on Thursday.
“All these years, we have been working towards improving the farm yield to feed the growing population of the country. The farm sector has come a long way from the food for all slogan to today’s nutritious food for all. However, we have forgotten about the farmers and about their profitability. It is time we thought about it,” said Mr. Nagi Reddy.
The State government is doling out subsidies to the tune of ₹3,200 crore to farmers as input cost has been increasing.
“Unless we concentrate on productivity and marketing, achieving profitability in the agriculture sector is not possible,” he pointed out.
Speaking on the occasion, Agriculture Mission member and AF Ecology Director Y.V. Malla Reddy said the ARS, Rekulakunta must concentrate on farmer-oriented research in arid region.
The ARS, Rekulakunta has the potential to become a specialised institution for the arid region crops and function as a university, he said.
The ARS, Rekulakunta has set up a cold oil press unit, along with a bottling plant, on its premises with an investment of ₹7.5 lakh. The machine has the capacity to extract oil from 20 kg of pulses.
‘ANGRAU Gold’
A kg of groundnut yields 400 ml of oil and 600 grams of oil-cake. The Acharya NG Ranga Agriculture University has proposed to market it on a commercial basis under the brand name of ‘ANGRAU Gold’. The machine can extract oil from sesame and safflower without needing any modifications, said ARS Rekulakuinta Director Sahadev Reddy. Joint Director Agriculture Ramakrishna was present on the occasion.
