AP leading from front in
agriculture, set for record production
Nation depends on A.P.
for food security, State growth is envious
Hyderabad|India|August'2010: The Chief Minister Dr.K.Rosaiah said
that Andhra Pradesh is the only State in the country which has given top
most priority to agriculture and achieved many milestones and become a
role model in the country.
The Chief Minister held a teleconference with Agriculture Minister, Mr.N.
Raghuveera Reddy and Advisor to Govt., and Dy. Chairman, Agricultural
Technology Mission, Mr.D.A.Somayajulu in the backdrop of the Minister’s
meeting with the President of India Smt. Pratibha Singh Devi Patil at
Delhi today to showcase the progress made by Andhra Pradesh in Agriculture
sector in the last six years. He also directed the Chief Secretary, Mr.
S.V.Prasad after the teleconference to continuously monitor the targets
set by the State to achieve targeted production of 208 lakh M.T during
this year, in view of favourable monsoon in the State. The Chief Minister
thanked the President for evincing interest on Andhra Pradesh. Smt.
Prathiba patil is likely to visit the State on 18th of this month.
The President evinced keen interest to know the various steps taken by the
State Government in saving the farmers a debt trap in 2004 to a formidable
position today. Andhra Pradesh today occupies the Number One position not
only in Agricultural Production but also in the allied sectors of poultry,
fish, meat, animal husbandry etc. The Government of India also depends a
lot on Andhra Pradesh as far as food security is concerned.
Ever since the new government took over under the leadership of Chief
Minister Dr.Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy on 14th May, 2004, the State Government
has taken up several remedial and historic measures to mitigate the
problems of the farmers in the State. Since then, the A.P. Government has
taken a large number of initiatives, both fiscal and non-fiscal, for
giving push to agriculture. These included both short term and long term
initiatives, said Dr.K.Rosaiah.
The first and the foremost step taken was supply of free power to 95% of
the farmers in the State which was not under implementation earlier. A sum
of Rs.1,259 crore was waived off towards power bill arrears of the
farmers. Another major proactive measure taken by the State Government as
part of coming to the rescue of the farmer was providing Crop Insurance to
the farmer with village as a unit. Under farm credit, the State Government
has been extending loans to the farmers liberally with the cooperation of
the Banks.
The State Government is giving top priority for farm extension programs
and in this regard, formulated several innovative programs like Rythu
Chaitanya Yatralu, Rythu Sadassus and Adarsha Rythulu in order to
sensitize and educate the farmers in modern and scientific farming methods
and boost agricultural production in the State. A major achievement of the
State Government during the last four years was its efforts in reducing
the cost of Bt. Cotton seed packet of 450 grams from Rs.1,852 to Rs.750
through a legal battle from 2006-07 onwards.
Under the distribution of land to the land less poor scheme, the State
government has so far distributed 7,09,229 lakh acres to 5,04,099
beneficiaries in the last six years besides spending Rs.500 crore for the
development of assigned lands. The State Government is also giving
priority to Agricultural education in a big way. As part of this, a
Horticultural University, a Veterinary University and 7 Agriculture
Polytechnics were established. Besides, WTO Cell was established in the
Department of Agriculture.
The State Government’s main focus was on the development of agriculture
and allied activities, as we firmly believe that a high growth rate in
agriculture and allied activities is a pre-requisite for achieving a
sustained GDP growth rate of 9%. In a way, A.P.has revisited the first
Green Revolution initiatives and worked very closely with the Banks to
ensure that there is adequate flow of credit to the farm sector. The
Government have taken up for implementation a large number of irrigation
projects.
In addition to the A.P’s efforts in the development of agriculture, the
Government of India’s initiatives have also come in handy to the Govt. The
Prime Minister’s package was implemented with an outlay of Rs.9,650 crore
in 3 years ie.2006-7 to 2008-09. The National Food Security Mission is
also being implemented in the State during the period from 2007-08 to
2011-12. Similarly, under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, the program is
being implemented in the State with Rs.2,700 crore outlay during the
period from2007-08 to 2011-12. As the result of proactive measures taken
up by the State Government, the food grain production reached all time
high of 204 lakh Mts during 2008-09. It is targeted to produce 208 lakh
Mts during 2010-11.
We also achieved a GSDP growth rate of 9.17% per annum for the five years
period from 2004-09, as against Nation’s 8.47%, the Chief Minister said.
-August''
2010
