Provide quality seeds to farmers: Pemmasani

Union Minister of State Dr. Pemmasani Chandrasekhar has directed officials of the Agriculture Department and allied departments to ensure seamless provision of quality seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides to farmers for crop cultivation. Additionally, he emphasized the importance of facilitating crop loans, ensuring proper irrigation, and promoting awareness about profitable farming practices.
Dr Chandrasekhar conducted a review meeting via video conference with officials from agriculture and allied departments in Guntur district on Sunday. District Collector S. Nagalakshmi, along with MLAs Naseer Ahmed, Burla Ramanjaneyulu, Tenali Sravana Kumar, and Joint Collector G. Rajakumari were present at the Collectorate’s video conference hall. The meeting included presentations detailing the status of agricultural activities, land under cultivation, irrigation facilities, rainfall patterns, seed availability, fertilizer distribution, soil testing, horticultural practices, and natural farming initiatives.
The Minister instructed the establishment of a dedicated toll-free number in the Guntur district to address complaints regarding the sale of non-compliant fertilizers, seeds, and pesticides. He stressed the importance of prominently displaying this number at all business establishments and ensuring prompt resolution of reported issues, with detailed records maintained for scrutiny by public representatives and higher authorities. Dr. Chandrasekhar also committed to working with the central government to enact legislative changes aimed at rigorously penalizing manufacturers and vendors of counterfeit agricultural inputs.
Encouraging agronomists to explore innovative crop alternatives, Dr. Chandrasekhar urged agriculture department officials to educate farmers extensively on profitable crop cultivation techniques. He emphasized the need for robust planning to ensure subsidized government seeds reach all eligible farmers while calling for rigorous inspections to curb the circulation of fake agricultural products that harm crop yields, particularly affecting disadvantaged farmers in the district.
MLAs Tenali Sravan Kumar, Burla Ramanjaneyulu, and Naseer Ahmed contributed various suggestions during the meeting, advocating for stringent actions against companies involved in the large-scale distribution of counterfeit agricultural inputs.
They also urged measures to extend crop loans not only to landowners but also to tenant farmers.