Rupees 1,127 crore earmarked for drip irrigation: Somireddy

Nellore: Agriculture Minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy said the state government is ready to provide Rs 1,127 crore for drip irrigation for supporting the farmers, who take up horticulture crops for earning good revenue. He participated in Sankalpamtho Siddhi programme organised by Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Periyavaram in Venkatagiri on Thursday. Addressing the meeting, the Minister stated the amount has been earmarked for encouraging horticulture farmers in the state.

Highlights:

• Agriculture Minister appeals to farmers to shift to horticulture crops for more profits
• Says state govt will release Rs 3,600 crore towards farm loan waiver soon

He advised farmers to go for horticulture crops as they are less expensive and profitable when compared to paddy cultivation. He said the government would provide 90-100 per cent subsidy to SC/ST farmers. “A group of 5-6 farmers can purchase a van with a subsidy of more than Rs 2 lakh and 0-15 farmers can form as a Farmer Producers Organisation for availing Rs 3 lakh subsidy from the government,” he added.

The state government encourages farmers or entrepreneurs, who come forward to arrange cold storage with a capacity of 5,000 metric tonnes for availing huge subsidy, he stated and announced the government is ready to provide 11,000 tractors to farmers on subsidy. Somireddy informed participants of the meeting that the government will be releasing Rs 3,600 crore in the coming week days as part of third instalment towards farm loan waiver.

Local legislator K Ramakrishna, Venkatagiri Market Committee Chairman Rajeswara Rao, Krishi Vigyan Kendra in-charge Chiranjeevi Chowdary, MPTC Munemma, Municipal Chairperson D Sarada, APCO Director Phanindra Babu and others were present.

Agriculture Minister also participated in Jalasiriki Harathi programme at Sarvepalli Reservoir. Addressing a meeting, he said that the state government had distributed Rs 1,900 crore as input subsidy to the farmers across the state. He further said that state had received 4.05 per cent excess rainfall as against normal rainfall. Nellore, Chittoor and Prakasam districts had received heavy rainfall when compared to other 11 districts across the state, he mentioned.

Farmers in Anantapur cultivated groundnut in around 6 lakh hectares in the season. About 73 per cent crops have been cultivated across the state in this season, the Minister added and informed that government had resolved 5.43 lakh complaints from the farmers with Rs 523 crore.

He explained that Kadapa, Nellore and Chittoor districts will have bright future with inter-linking of rivers such as Godavari and Penna. He also said that they would complete Penna and Sangam barrages soon. MLC B Ravichandra, In-charge RDO D Haritha and others were present.