Vijayawada, May 22 (UNI) Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed the Agriculture Department to prioritise scientific crop planning aligned with global and domestic market trends to protect farmers from losses.
The farmers should be informed about the suitable crops and the cultivation areas to ensure a balanced supply-demand ecosystem, the Chief Minister said, adding that the cultivation must be restricted to crops with strong market demand to safeguard farmer incomes.
In a teleconference with officials and Ministers on Thursday, the Chief Minister reviewed the issues faced by farmers cultivating tobacco, cocoa, mango, and paddy.
The Chief Minister advised the RTGS and agriculture officials to continually monitor global developments, market trends, and crop yields for informed planning and stated that both short-term and long-term challenges in agriculture must be addressed through the Cabinet Sub-Committee, which now includes Ministers Gottipati Ravi Kumar and Ramanaidu as new members.
The Chief Minister instructed officials to ensure companies procure cocoa at Rs 500 per kg and stated that farmers should not be forced to sell below that rate. If necessary, the government will step in to procure directly. Currently, cocoa stocks are estimated at 1,200–1,500 metric tonnes, of which around 600 metric tonnes are held by farmers, the officials apprised him.
Naidu directed the officials to initiate the procurement of the approximately 20 million KG of HD Burley tobacco currently held by farmers. As there is no market demand, a crop holiday has been declared for HD Burley this year to prevent farmer losses.
The officials were told to collect accurate data via an app on the volume of HD Burley stock held by each farmer. A dedicated cell in the Tobacco Board is now tracking daily procurement.
Due to a lack of orders, mango pulp procurement has slowed, worrying mango growers. Chandrababu Naidu ordered the officials to ensure that pulp processing companies resume procurement immediately. However, officials explained that old stockpiles and a lack of bank loans for pulp companies have limited their capacity to purchase fresh stock.
To increase consumption, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu proposed distributing mango juice in the Midday Meal Scheme and offering it as prasadam at Tirumala through TTD.
Naidu also reviewed challenges faced by tomato farmers and instructed officials to encourage more tomato processing units in the state to ensure fair prices. On paddy, officials informed him that procurement is progressing smoothly, and even rain-damaged stock is being purchased. Ministers Ayyanna Patrudu, Nadendla Manohar, Gottipati Ravi, Ramanaidu, and Payyavula Keshav participated in the review meeting.
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