Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday announced a series of measures to make agriculture profitable, sustainable and climate-resilient in the State, including plans to spend Rs. 2,000 crore for water conservation through MGNREGA funds.
Releasing a white paper on agriculture, the fourth in the series on different sectors, Mr. Naidu said the main goal was to transform agriculture from a ‘way of life’ into an ‘enterprise’ by increasing crop productivity. As part of it, the waiver of agricultural loans has provided a big relief to farmers. The other measures include appointing multi-purpose extension officers for every 1,000 hectares, providing comprehensive soil health cards to ensure proper balance of micro-nutrients.
He said satellite imagery and remote sensing data would be used to advice farmers on crop selection and changing cropping patterns.
