Promote horticulture to ensure double income to farmers: CM

Vijayawada: Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has directed officials to promote horticulture cultivation extensively across all regions of the State, excluding the Godavari and Krishna deltas. He emphasised that the goal should be to ensure a minimum annual income of 1 lakh per acre for farmers.

During a review meeting on horticulture held at the Secretariat on Monday, the Chief Minister stated that 24 horticulture clusters should be developed across the state based on 11 priority crops — chili, banana, mango, oil palm, cocoa, dragon fruit, cashew, coffee, coconut, tomato, and onion — to provide necessary support to farmers.

He said the current horticulture area in the State stands at 18.23 lakh hectares and this must be doubled in the next five years. Given the growing demand for oil palm, cocoa, and coconut, awareness must be created among farmers about cultivating these crops.

He noted that less than 1 per cent of global cocoa cultivation occurs in India. To tap into global market demand, cocoa must be cultivated in at least one lakh acres.

Post-harvest, farmers should be trained on maintaining quality. He also recommended encouraging farmers to set up small-scale processing units to increase their income.

“The subsidy being provided for micro-irrigation by both the central and state governments must be fully utilized by farmers in the state,” he instructed.

He stressed the need to prioritise SC, ST, and small farmers for drip irrigation systems. For those who already have drip irrigation, automation equipment should be installed to optimize water and fertilizer use. “Farmers should be made aware of how this technology can help them save both water and fertilizers,” he said.

Officials informed Naidu that monthly conclaves are being organised in all districts to explore the potential of the horticulture sector. They also reported that fruit covers worth 32 crore have been distributed on a subsidy basis to farmers cultivating fruits on 10,000 hectares. This initiative, they said, resulted in an additional income of 120 crore for the farmers.

The review meeting was attended by Minister K Atchannaidu, Agriculture Mission Corporation Chairman Marreddy Srinivas Reddy, and senior officials.