Go for change of crop methods to make farming more profitable, suggests KCR

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao suggested that India should be divided into crop colonies and implement change of crop methods to make agriculture a profitable profession.

The Chief Minister on Thursday held a meeting with the NABARD team of representatives at Pragati Bhavan. He felt the agriculture was done in the country in a whimsical manner. The country has a wide variety of soils. "We have hilly terrain, cold climate areas and coastlines. We have to identify which crop is suitable for which terrain and cultivate only those crops there", he said adding that it is also not enough if the agriculture produce is increased. The cultivated produce should have suitable marketing too, Rao suggested stating that otherwise one has to face the adverse conditions in the market. Along with the policy on cultivation, proper marketing strategy should be in place, the CM opined.

He asserted that there is a need for major shift in the negative attitude that the agriculture is not profitable and desired that the country should be self-reliant in the production of food grains and should reach a stage where it would be able to export food grains to other countries.

KCR further stressed the government and institutions like NABARD implement schemes that would encourage agriculture and agri-based industries.

He explained the NABARD chairman GR Chintala about Telangana government's decision to set up food processing SEZs in a big way, requesting NABARD to prepare schemes and programmes to financially assist the setting up of food SEZs, food processing units. This policy should also be duplicated all over the country, he added.