Congress MLAs flag low crop diversification, seek support for farmers

Congress MLAs in Telangana Assembly raised concerns over limited crop diversification, declining vegetable cultivation, monkey menace and shortage of oil palm saplings. They urged the government to provide subsidies, establish cold storage units and create awareness among farmers

Hyderabad: In contrast to the State government’s claims, a few Congress MLAs admitted that farmers were not taking up crop diversification extensively across the State for various reasons.

During Question Hour in the Assembly on Wednesday, Achampet MLA C Vamshi Krishna said very few farmers were opting for crop diversification. Expressing concern over the decline in vegetable cultivation in the State, he said the trend was mainly due to the growth of real estate activity in peri-urban areas.

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The Congress MLA wanted the government to constitute a committee to create awareness among farmers about crop diversification and conduct training sessions. Stating that NABARD was also extending support for crop diversification, he said the government should provide subsidies to farmers cultivating vegetables.

“Due to the lack of Minimum Support Price, many farmers are not keen on cultivating vegetables and horticultural crops,” Vamshi Krishna stated.

Congress MLA from Bhupalpally Gandra Satyanarayana stressed the need to establish cold storage units in the State to help farmers safeguard their stocks. He also said monkey menace was significantly affecting maize farmers.

Nagarjunasagar MLA K Jayaveer Reddy said sweet lime farmers in his constituency were now shifting to oil palm cultivation. However, there was a shortage of oil palm saplings, and the government needed to address the issue, he said.

Monkey menace was also forcing farmers to refrain from cultivating vegetable and horticultural crops. In Nandikonda Municipality, residents were facing severe hardships due to monkeys, he added.

“The government should extend subsidies to vegetable and horticultural farmers to set up solar fencing to protect their crops from monkeys,” Jayaveer Reddy suggested.