Prakasam to benefit from Seema horticulture programme

Ongole: Social welfare minister Dr Dola Sree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy said the Rayalaseema Comprehensive Horticulture Development Programme will benefit the horticulture sector in Prakasam district too.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, deputy chief minister K Pawan Kalyan and other ministers laid the foundation stone for the Indian School of Agriculture at Madanapalle on Friday. They also launched the programme, which will cost Rs 1 lakh crore.

Minister Swamy, along with collector P Raja Babu, MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, MLA Damacharla Janardhana Rao and Ongole Urban Development Authority chairman Sheik Reyaz, paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri, and watched the live telecast of the foundation stone programme from the Collectorate here on Friday.

Speaking later, the minister explained that Prakasam district now has 32702 hectares of horticulture area. The government aims to develop another 27,156 hectares under the programme. He said the ISA will focus on crop variety, better water use, higher yield and quality, fewer post-harvest losses, processing, value addition, marketing, and stronger farmer-producer organisations. For chilli, the minister said that the plan promotes quality, good farming methods, residue control, product tracing and export-friendly practices.

For mango and other orchards, it proposes modern monitoring, quality produce and market links. The government will provide Rs 601 crore. The minister announced that ten horticulture clusters and 35 mandals in the erstwhile Prakasam district will benefit from the programme.

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