A meeting held here on Saturday for preparing a draft on the comprehensive agriculture policy planned to be unveiled by the State government soon has asked the officials concerned to prepare a report on incentives needed by farmers to raise the suggested crops.
Minister for Agriculture S. Niranjan Reddy, chairman of Rythu Bandhu Samithi Palla Rajeshwar Reddy and agriculture secretary B. Janardhan Reddy said that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s idea behind regulated farming practices was to build capacities among the farming community and make them competitive for the ultimate goal of making agriculture profitable.
Shortcomings
They wanted the officials to point out the hindrances that were making the country and the State in particular, which has all the resources, unable to compete with the United States and China in terms of production and marketing.
Stating that cultivation of paddy beyond a certain extent would again push farmers into problems, they stressed the need for crop diversification, particularly in the wake of increasing irrigation potential.
Highlighting the need to increase the cultivation of oilseeds, palm oil, groundnut and pulses, they also wanted suggestions from officials on other alternative crops that are suitable for the soil and weather conditions in Telangana keeping in mind the market demands. Cropping patterns in other States should also be studied.
Vice-Chancellor of Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU) V. Praveen Rao, commissioner of horticulture L. Venkatrami Reddy, director of marketing G. Lakshmi Bai, and Managing Director of Seed Development Corporation K. Keshavulu also interacted.
