EG’s action plan for growth to focus on primary sector

Rajamahendravaram: The district administration has proposed 23 different works as part of various activities to be taken up, towards the State achieving double-digit growth rate in the current financial year.

The district administration is laying special emphasis on primary sectors like agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, dairy and rural development to achieve the targets set by the State government. According to district Collector H Arun Kumar, Rs 10 crore has been sanctioned by the State government for implementing these projects.

Talking to The Hans India, he said the district administration would set up 42 animal-feed centres with an estimated cost of Rs 1.05 crore. DWCRA women groups would be involved in the preparation of integrated animal feed as suggested by the animal husbandry department, said the Collector.

He said one centre has been established at Peddapuram mandal and the remaining 41centres would be set up soon. Work was also in progress to construct 450 animal cages at a cost of Rs 44.39 lakh to provide treatment and take up artificial insemination at Gopalamitra centres, added the Collector.

Deworming of cattle was taken up at a cost of Rs 72 lakh to achieve higher milk yield. About 1.50 lakh high-yielding animals in the district were covered in July, he said. To avoid the use of carbide for ripening of fruits and to increase the income of farmers, eight fruit-ripening centers, at a cost of Rs16 lakh each have been proposed under this plan.

For this purpose, Rs 45 lakh was sanctioned from ‘innovation’ funds, Rs 45 lakh from horticulture department funds and the remaining Rs 38 lakh was availed of as a bank loan, said the Collector.

Four fruit-ripening centres have been established, at Narsapuram and Gadarada villages in Korukonda mandal, Mallisala in Jaggampeta mandal and at Palacherla in Rajanagaram mandal, he said.

Similarly, coconut procurement, grading and marketing centre was sanctioned at Kodurupadu village in Allavarm mandal to facilitate the coconut farmers.

The centre would help the farmers to procure coconut and to export it to other States at favourable rates. This would also help the farmers to steer clear of the middle-men, said the Collector.

Also being planned in this sector were mobile vegetable vans to collect vegetables from ‘lanka’ villages and sell them in retail, apart from organising them into groups for grading, packing and marketing.

Other measures taken to reach the target for the district include ‘cage culture’ to develop Thilapia fish in Yeleru reservoir, sewing-centres for women groups in rural areas, provision of mechanised agricultural equipment to farmers, establishing ‘dal mills’ in agency areas and a horticulture training centre at Mummidivaram, said Arun Kumar.