Implement soil health and PM DDKY schemes in Puttaparthi

Puttaparthi: District Collector A Shyam Prasad directed officials to ensure effective implementation of Bhoomata Rakshana (Soil Health Protection) and Pradhan Mantri Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY) schemes across the district.

Chairing a district-level review meeting at the Collectorate on Thursday, he emphasised the need to promote natural farming practices and include Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS) and natural farming units in the committee to spread awareness among farmers. He instructed officials to form village, mandal, and division-level committees immediately and conduct regular awareness sessions for farmers.

The Collector asked officials to identify 100 villages where chemical fertiliser usage is high, guide farmers with scientific recommendations, and work towards reducing fertiliser dependency. He also directed Zilla Parishad, cooperative, and police departments to coordinate in implementing strict monitoring mechanisms and curb illegal transport of fertilisers across State borders.

He urged agriculture scientists to prepare five-year crop-wise fertiliser plans under PMDDKY scheme and ensure adherence at grassroot level. He warned fertiliser companies and dealers against selling at inflated prices, insisting on sales strictly at MRP and daily online reporting of transactions. District Agriculture Officer V Ramu Naik assured that meetings would be held at all levels to gather farmers’ feedback and take prompt action.

Officials from agriculture, police, and cooperative departments, along with fertiliser company representatives, participated in the meeting.