Agriculture sector records phenomenal growth in Telangana: Niranjan Reddy

Hyderabad: Attributing the success of the agriculture sector to the relentless efforts of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy said that the average growth of the agriculture sector in Telangana was recorded at 15.8 per cent over the last seven years as against national average of 8.5 per cent during the […]

Hyderabad: Attributing the success of the agriculture sector to the relentless efforts of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy said that the average growth of the agriculture sector in Telangana was recorded at 15.8 per cent over the last seven years as against national average of 8.5 per cent during the corresponding period. He extended his greetings to Chandrashekhar Rao who will be celebrating his 68th birthday on Thursday.

In a statement, Niranjan Reddy stated that the Chief Minister implemented numerous schemes for the welfare and development of farmers as well as the agriculture sector, making Telangana a role model for others. He said the State has emerged as the largest cultivator of cotton crop in about 60 lakh acres as well as the second-largest producer and purchaser of paddy in the country. The paddy production increased from 45 lakh tonnes in 2014 to three crore tonnes in 2021. Similarly, the cultivation area increased from 1.34 crore acres in 2014 to 2.3 crore acres in 2021. Since the State formation, the State government procured paddy worth Rs 97,924 crore, he said.

The Agriculture Minister pointed out that due to the vision of Chandrashekhar Rao, the State government spent more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the construction of various irrigation projects and also improved electricity infrastructure at an expenditure of Rs 28,473 crore apart from providing uninterrupted free power to all agricultural connections at an annual cost of Rs 10,500 crore. Further, the government revived tanks under Mission Kakatiya which ensured adequate irrigation water to farmlands.

“So far, nearly Rs 50,448.16 crore has been deposited into the bank accounts of farmers under Rythu Bandhu scheme and farm loans worth Rs 17,244 crore have been waived off. Due to all these efforts, the agriculture sector has progressed beyond anyone’s imagination and resulted in an increase of the per capita income by 103.46 per cent from Rs 1,12,162 lakh in 2014-15 to Rs 2,28,216 in 2020-21 itself,” he added.

Besides providing adequate seeds and fertilizers in advance through Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS), Telangana is the only State to invoke PD (Preventive Detention) Act against suppliers of spurious seeds. The Minister pointed out that the State government was also providing farm equipment and machinery at subsidised prices as well as increased the godown storage capacity from a mere 4.17 lakh tonnes in 2013-14 to 24.73 lakh tonnes in 2020-21. The State government is also promoting alternative crops including oil palm cultivation to increase the farmers’ income.

“Telangana is making new strides in agriculture and allied sectors as well as setting an example for others to emulate, under the leadership of K Chandrashekhar Rao. I extend birthday greetings to the Chief Minister on behalf of lakhs of farmers in Telangana,” he said.

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