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Andhra Pradesh
By Our Special Correspondent
Announcing this at a press conference on Saturday, the Chief Minister, N Chandrababu Naidu, said the Government had set for itself an ambitious target of achieving 165 lakh metric tonnes foodgrains production during the current water year. To achieve the target, it was decided to adopt a scientific approach to increase production, bring in cost effectiveness and ensure remunerative prices to farmers for their produce. A task force headed by the Chief Secretary as chairman and the Agriculture Secretary as convener had been set up to monitor the progress of agricultural activity on a daily basis and the task force would be assisted by a 11-member panel of specialists in different crops who would continuously advise farmers in various issues pertaining to crops. The Government would also initiate surveillance of pests, forecast pest attacks, monitor rainfall and the reservoir levels on a daily basis. The activity would be monitored by a special cell and a call centre, being set up with the help of ICICI, at the Secretariat which would be provided with a toll-free number enabling farmers to call up and seek advice from experts on the issues. Likewise, expert committees would also be constituted at the district level besides deploying an outdoor broadcasting van to the field to ensure that farmers get timely advise on various issues faced by them. The Government would also utilise the communication channels including television channels and KU and C bands besides giving toll free telephone numbers facilitating interaction of farmers with experts. The district level tele-conferencing facility, "teleclinics'' as he called them, had already started functioning in several districts while the Government also initiated measures to position about one lakh tonnes gypsum and 10,000 tonnes zinc sulphate for increasing soil fertility. This apart, digital cameras had also been given to all mandals wherein farmers can utilise them to photograph pests in their crops and send them to district or State-level committees for advice on control measures. According to Mr. Naidu, an elaborate exercise was conducted to prepare the cropping pattern for over 85 lakh hectares in different parts of the State wherein farmers would be educated about the crops that were suited to the kind of soil in their respective areas. Accordingly, a comprehensive exercise was taken up on identifying cropping patterns best suited to different areas and the Government prepared a list of 29 major crops and a few minor ones which would be cultivated during the current season, he said. The Chief Minister outlined various steps launched for procuring the required amount of seed likely to be of the order of 40 lakh quintals and as much as 7.5 lakh quintals seed had already been positioned in different parts of the State. In addition, the Government also initiated measures to provide credit facilities to farmers and the banks, both commercial and cooperative, were set a credit target of Rs. 11,182 crores for the current year. Replying to queries pertaining to Bt cotton, the Chief Minister said the Government had initiated exercise for documentation of the results achieved in areas where Bt Cotton cultivation was taken up.
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