Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao has instructed officials to guide farmers to cultivate crops in tune with the food habits of the people and also in line with the market demand.
He assigned them with a task to study the crops, other than paddy, which would be beneficial to farmers and submit a report by May 5.
Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao held a high-level review meeting for the second consecutive day here on Wednesday on the formulation of a new Agriculture Policy for the State with Agriculture Minister S.Niranjan Reddy, Civil Supplies Minister G. Kamalakar, Rythu Bandhu Samithi president Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, Civil Supplies Corporation chairman Mareddy Srinivas Reddy, Agriculture university Vice-Chancellor, Chief Advisor, Chief Secretary, senior CMO, besides other officials.
The Chief Minister observed that though paddy is being cultivated in a big way in the State, farmers are going for the coarse variety as the cultivation period is shorter while the major demand is only for fine variety of rice, both within and outside the State and the country. Farmers should be encouraged to go for fine variety of rice, he said.
“Other crops that have good demand are groundnut, red gram and oil palm. Identify other such crops with demand, including fruits and vegetables, and decide the extent of land to be used for these crops. Study farming methods, use of fertilizer, whether any change is needed, and come with a report. Also explore if fish farming can be taken up extensively with increase in water availability,” he told the officials.
With the abundant availability of irrigation water and 24x7 power supply, the situation changed significantly in the State. Cultivation is taking place under borewells too. If farmers are provided with right guidance, they can make agriculture profitable. Changes for the better could be brought in cultivation methods, selection of crops, use of fertilizer and marketing of the produce. Earlier, farmers used to cultivate crops as per their wishes and when every one went for the same crop, there would be glut in the market and prices would fall.
The new agriculture policy should work in the direction of making agriculture profitable, he said.
Since it was decided to construct additional godowns with a capacity of 40 lakh tonnes, the Chief Minister instructed the officials to identify the lands. A cold storage facility should be incorporated in the proposed godowns, he said.
In the review meeting held on Wednesday, the Chief Minister said that a comprehensive strategy is being finalised to ensure that farmers get appropriate support price for their produce. Paddy cultivation is taking place on a record scale and Telangana would become the rice bowl of India soon but farmers should get remunerative price for their produce, he said.
About 22.3 lakh tonnes of fertilizer would be required for the vana kalam (kharif) and fertilizer required for the month of June is available now. Farmers should start purchasing them from now itself, he said, warning those who resort to selling of fake fertiliser, pesticides and seed would be sternly dealt with and cases under the PD Act would be registered against them.
The Civil Supplies Corporation should ensure reasonable support price to farmers for their produce while consumers get the processed commodities at reasonable rates, the Chief Minister said.
