Farmers should focus not only on traditional crops but also on profitable crops, said Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao.
On Monday, the Minister inaugurated a cotton procurement centre established under the Agricultural Marketing Department at Gurralapadu under Khammam Rural mandal. Additional Collector P Sreeja was also present.
Speaking on the occasion, Nageswara Rao said that due to weather issues, there is moisture in the crops. He advised farmers to patiently dry the crops and ensure the moisture content is between 8 and 12 per cent. Such a measure will help farmers secure support price. He also instructed the officials to check the weighing machines with the private traders.
He acknowledged that farmers are facing difficulties due to a slid in yields due to heavy rains. He said that the government is taking steps to procure the entire cotton yield at the support price by alerting the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI).
The Minister urged CCI officials and Marketing and Revenue officials to coordinate efforts to ensure that farmers secure the support price for their produce. He advised farmers to sell their produce only if private traders pay more than the support price and dry the cotton at home before bringing it to the centre.
Farmers cultivating cotton and chilli should also focus on profitable crops like oil palm, he suggested, stating that oil palm cultivation does not face weather and marketing issues as traditional farming. He encouraged farmers to move towards more lucrative crops and consider growing two to three crops in the same field rather than suffering losses from traditional agriculture.
The Minister assured farmers that even if the government incurred loss, it would purchase all types of crops cultivated by farmers at the support price. He mentioned that steps are being taken to procure crops like soybean, pulses, and corn and advised farmers to immediately bring any issues regarding support prices to the attention of District Collectors and Revenue Divisional Officers.
The program was attended by State Warehousing Corporation Chairman Rayal Nageswara Rao, Muddulapalli Market Committee Chairman Harinatha Babu, and Khammam RDO G Ganesh.
