Agriculture Minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy on Thursday said educating tribal people on the latest farming techniques would be one of the Telugu Desam government’s main priorities linked to reviving the agriculture sector across the State.
Interacting with the media on the sidelines of his visit to the temple town, Mr. Reddy said as the northern part of the State had recorded less agricultural production, an awareness programme would be organised in the tribal areas on June 24 to evaluate the practices and suggest ways to improve them.
Plea to scientists
He urged educational institutions, scientists and research centres to focus on helping the farming community in facing the challenges faced by them.
Mr. Reddy said ₹18,214 crore was earmarked for agriculture in the budget and plans were afoot for utilising the funds effectively.
“With the government charting plans for the implementation of natural/organic farming concepts, we should keep a check on the usage of fertilizers, pesticides etc., and educate the farmers on a more judicious usage.
Our focus is also on the farm mechanisation aspect, encouraging horticulture, improving agricultural outputs in north Andhra and much more,” he said. The Minister earlier took stock of the activities at the S.V. Agricultural College, Institute of Frontier Technology (IFT) – Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), and lauded the efforts of the researchers and scientists, particularly the services offered to the farming community.
Mr. Reddy promised to extend necessary help for the infrastructure development at the facility, aimed at strengthening research activities.
Government Whip and Rajampeta MLA Meda Mallikarjuna Reddy, RARS Associate Director of Research T.C.M. Naidu and several others took part.
