TS Govt asks Centre to set up Groundnut Research Centre

Hyderabad: Telangana Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy wrote a letter Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar seeking Rs. 50 crore grant to establish the Groundnut Research Center in the State.

The Agriculture Minister, in his letter, said that the cultivation in Telangana State was all set to witness a huge boost due to the strengthening of irrigation facilities. He said that the highest Groundnut yield in the country comes from Wanaparthy, Nagar Kurnool, Jogulamba Gadwala and Mahabubnagar districts. As against the national average of 1486 kg per hectare, the average yield in these areas is about 1611 kg /ha.

"With the availability of abundant irrigated water, it has been decided to set up a research centre at Sampathpuram to cultivate peanuts for export as well as provide quality seeds to the farmer. Peanut butter produced worldwide is in high demand," he said.

Niranjan Reddy urged the Centre to grant Rs. 50 crore for the establishment of a research centre to provide necessary infrastructure and building and setting up of lab. He said that the - Telangana Government has already identified and allocated space for setting up the research centre. Stating that the research centre would be of great benefit to Telangana farmers, he requested the Union Minister to sanction grant at the earliest.