Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy asked officials to supply farmers with high-yielding crop varieties that can be harvested in a short period of time.
He also gave instructions on the arrangement of crops, area, etc during the rainy season and said that the use of nano urea and nano DAP fertilizers should be encouraged.
Niranjan held a review meeting on Monday on monsoon crops with senior officials for the first time in the new Secretariat. He said that he expects farmers to cultivate about 1.40 crore in Vanakalam.
He said that horticulture crops will be cultivated on 14 lakh acres and asked the department to prepare to help farmers. The Minister asked officials to encourage the cultivation of cotton and red gram and to keep 18 lakh quintals of seeds of various crops ready.
Steps should be taken to supply Pachirotta seeds keeping in mind organic cultivation and soil fertility and Rs 76.66 crore will be released for this, the Minister said.
He asked agriculture officials to create awareness among youth on the use of drones for farming operations.
The Minister said that a loan of Rs 40,000 should be provided to farmers for the cultivation of internal crops in oil palm plantations through DCCBs. He also asked officials to provide technical advice to farmers through social media and to concentrate on continuous training and providing scientific information on agriculture.
He asked farmers to use the land for Yasangi paddy crop in Vanakalam only so that Yasangi harvesting can be completed by March to avoid losses due to hailstorms.
Niranjan asked officials to ensure that short-term crop seeds are supplied to farmers. He asked officials to encourage farmers to use the drum seed technology instead of traditional paddy planting as that will save 10 to 15 days.
He asked farmers to advance the paddy cultivation season like the farmers of Banswada, Bodhan, Huzurnagar and Miryalaguda and told officials to encourage the use of phosphate-soluble bacteria to protect the land’s fertility.
He asked officials to keep adequate fertilizers ready for Vanakalam and take action against fake seed distributors.
