Agri Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy stresses on need for growing bamboo

Wanaparthy: Stressing that the farmers must try to adopt new farming methods and experiment with income yielding commercial crops like Bamboo so that they can earn good returns with less investment.

While visiting the bamboo farming of Bharati, lead scientists and researcher of bamboo farming and owner of Grow More Biotech Limited in Hosur village of Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu, Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy said that he was motivated to go with bamboo farming in his own farm lands in Wanaparthy. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister advised that farmers instead of just adopting the old conventional farming, they must focus and experiment with new and innovative crops that would help them earn good returns.

"Bamboo farming is said to be very much economical. One can get more than 40 tones of bamboo on one acre land per year and with Rs 4,500 per quintal, a farmer can easily earn Rs 1.2 to Rs 1.6 lakh per annum without much investment. Bamboo is not only used for making furniture and other items, but it is more used in the preparation of ethanol (bio diesel). Therefore, it is high time the farmers think of adopting innovative and alternative crops, that will not only help earn good returns but at the same time reduce the input investment drastically," said the Minister. Horticulture University Vice-Chancellor Niraja Prabhakar, Horticulture Director Venkatram reddy, Grow More Bharati along with senior officials participated in the programme along with the Minister.