Land under cultivation up 68 pc to 2.03 cr acres in Telangana: Agriculture Minister

Hyderabad, Dec 9 : The land under cultivation in Telangana state increased 68 per cent to 2.03 crore acres against 1.21 crore acre in 2014 due to various initiatives taken by the government, Agriculture Minister Singireddy NiranjanReddy said here on Friday.
The Government has taken strong policies and implemented them with high priority. While framing our policy, we focused on some very crucial areas, Niranjan said while addressing a mega SmartAgri Summit organized by the oldest Chamber of Commerce of India, The Bengal Chamber (BCC&I) here.
The Minister said, “supply of water was the biggest challenge for our farmers. To address the issue, our visionary Chief Minister K.Chandrashekar Rao took up Kaleshwaram Project, currently the world’s largest multi-stage lift irrigation project.As Agriculture is the priority sector for the State, achieving sustainability in the farm sector is of immense precedence. Using technology and innovation is probably the finest way in achieving that. The State Government envisions Telangana as a prototype state to bring a digital revolution in India’s agri-sector, the Minister added.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Ashok Dalwai,IAS, CEO, NRAA, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare & Chairman, Commission of Doubling Farmers’ Income, said that it is high time to turn agriculture into agri-business.
He said that farmers are the entrepreneurs who take maximum risk. So, if their income cannot be enhanced the entire nation will be in trouble.
While addressing the issue of attaining sustainability in the farm sector he said, “the greatest environmental concern is, in India rice consumes about 4,000 – 5,000 litres of water per kg of grain produced. However, if we consider another rich carbohydrate which is millet, it needs 30 percent lesser amount of water. So, it is high time to think of nutrition security instead of food security.”
Mr. Subir Chakraborty, President, BCC&I. MD & CEO, Exide Industries Ltd, said, “banks and financial institutions play a key role in ensuring doubling farmers income. If there is a need to reconsider the policies to provide credit access to FPOs, that should be considered. If we sincerely believe that agriculture needs to be turned into agri-business then access to credit is crucial. All these concerns demand policy level intervention.”
The Summit was also addressed by Ms.Susheela Chintala, CGM, NABARD, Hyderabad.About 50 corporates, 5 banks, 15 Agritech Companies and 150 plus FPOs participated in the Summit and Exhibition.