Andhra Pradesh Govt To Form “Krishi Cabinet

27 June, Hyderabad

Andhra Pradesh government will form “Krishi Cabinet”, a Cabinet sub-committee to look into the challenges of the Primary Sector Mission undertaken to make agriculture and its allied activities profitable and sustainable for all-round improvement of the rural economy.

Rechristened as ‘Rythu Kosam’ the mission would be part of the government’s strategy to achieve 18.2 per cent growth in 2015-16 fiscal to enhance the contribution of primary sector to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) from Rs.1.43 lakh crore to Rs.1.69 lakh crore, according to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Reviewing the mission’s performance, Naidu said emphasis would be laid on promoting cost-effective farm practices and value-based marketing of the produce.

He said an Additional Joint Collector-rank official would be made the in-charge of the Primary Sector Mission’s performance.

The State government is also planning to distribute fertilizers, seeds and pesticides through fair price shops to curb black marketing.

Officials also suggested that certificate courses on best farming methods and training classes should be conducted for farmers.

Special Chief Secretary (Agriculture) Vijay Kumar informed the Chief Minister that 3.7 lakh soil samples were collected by using geo-tagging technology and SMS alerts would be sent to farmers about the changes to be adopted in farm practices.