Rapid growth in agriculture production in Telangana: Niranjan Reddy

Prior to 2014, agriculture production was only 62 lakh metric tons in Telangana but last year, paddy production alone was three crore metric tons, Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy said.

Khammam: Telangana has been witnessing a constant increase in agriculture production while the situation in Congress and BJP ruled States was reversing, said Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy.

With pro-farmer measures taken by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, agricultural production has increased manifold. Prior to 2014, agriculture production was only 62 lakh metric tons in Telangana but last year, paddy production alone was three crore metric tons, he said.

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He along with Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar inaugurated three warehouses with a total capacity of 20,000 metric tons built on five acres of land at a cost of Rs.14.90 crore at Jinkalagudem of Raghunathapalem mandal in the district on Friday.

Niranjan Reddy said new warehouses were not being constructed in any State in the country. Telangana was the only State where new warehouses were being constructed due to increase in agriculture production. Punjab and West Bengal witnessed decrease in production States while like MP and Maharashtra maintaining same production level. Maximum of agriculture land was being utilised in Telangana with 1.46 crore acres land under cultivation.

Though there were large areas of agricultural land in the USA, European countries and others there was a decrease in agriculture production and they depend on food imports while India with around 40 crore acres of agriculture land was in a position to produce and export food grains.

Khammam farmers produced cotton in the Yasangi season and Adilabad farmers produced apples, which proves the fact that Telangana could be playing a vital role in agriculture production in the country and the land in the State suitable for all types of crops,

The Modi government at the Centre has not built a single irrigation project in the past eight years while Telangana spent nearly Rs 1.50 lakh crore on irrigation projects, Niranjan Reddy said.

He informed that the Yasangi Rythu Bandhu amount would be credited in December and steps to waive crop loans would be taken in the days to come. At the request of Ajay Kumar the minister sanctioned Rs 2.50 crore for internal CC roads on the premises of the newly built warehouses.

In his address, Ajay Kumar thanked Niranjan Reddy for granting funds for warehouses for the benefit of farmers. The farmers in erstwhile Khammam district were known for crop diversification, love of agriculture and were producing quality cotton and chilli, he said.