Deputy Chief Minister K.E. Krishnamurthy on Friday warned of stern action against spurious seed sellers in the State and advised farmers to be wary of such products.
He broke a coconut, performed pooja and applied vermillion on two bullocks and ploughed the agricultural field of a farmer, Mekala Venkateswarlu at Panchalingala village in Kurnool mandal, formally launching the Eruvaka Punnami programme. Mr. Krishnamurthy later interacted with farmers at the Montessori School conference hall in the village. Giving tips to farmers on the crops to be cultivated, seeds and fertilisers and precautions to be taken, he said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was striving to transform the State into ‘Navyandhra Pradesh’. The government was taking concrete steps to curb middlemen who were jeopardising the interests of farmers, he said.
Land records
The Revenue Department launched Mee Intiki Mee Bhoomi programme enabling one crore farmers to verify their land details online. Farmers would be supplied tractors on subsidy under Rythu Ratham programme, the Deputy Chief Minister said. Foolproof surveys were being done to ensure that others did not encroach upon the lands of farmers, he said.
Rajya Sabha member T.G. Venkatesh said Panchalingala, Devamada, Gondiparla, Thandrapadu and Poolathota villages were made fertile on the lines of coastal Andhra through lift irrigation schemes. An indoor stadium with an outlay of ₹70 lakh, a farmer training centre furnished like a three-star hotel and midlife railway coach factory were coming up, he said.
Kurnool MLA S.V. Mohan Reddy exhorted farmers to take up poultry farming and rearing of cattle to increase their sources of revenue. The government provided succour to farmers by purchasing chilli from them at ₹1,500 per quintal, the MLA said. Kodumur MLA Mani Gandhi wanted market intervention scheme to assist farmers who were hard-pressed with no takers for their produce.
‘Raise millets’
Collector S. Satyanarayana advised farmers to reduce the crop sowing area and raise millets, cut down the investment cost with traditional agricultural practices and earn increased income.
A.P. Irrigation Development Corporation chairman K.E. Prabhakar said the government procured onion crop by spending ₹500 crore in Kurnool district. Joint Director of Agriculture Uma Maheswaramma said soil testing was done in Panchalingala and farmers were being advised on the crops to be sown.
Mr. Krishnamurthy, Mr. Venkatesh, MLAs and the Collector watched the stalls put up by the agriculture and allied departments. TDP leader S. Venkateswarlu and Panchalingala sarpanch Anantha Lakshmi were among those present.
