Government to provide inputs to farmers

​Hyderabad: Minister for Agriculture Pocharam Srinivas Reddy on Thursday said the State government would help farmer start farming activity by March during rabi season and complete the harvesting process by Decembers. He directed the officials to make available seeds and fertiliser to the farmers in adequate quantities.

The Minister, while addressing an orientation programme on rabi crops for 2016-17, directed the officials to provide quality seed and fertilisers to the farmers in time.

He instructed the officials to ensure that soil tests are conducted at field-level and help the farmers choose the right crops. He said the officials should make personal visits to the fields and advise farmers on use of pesticides.

There is a need for educating the farmers on the crops and steps to use quality seed and quantity of fertilisers. The State government is committed to provide all help and inputs to them for better yield.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has asked the Agriculture Department to gear up for the rabi season with a variety of crops that will give good returns for farmers,” he said.

He also said the government had decided to appoint an official for every 2,000 acres to give concrete suggestions to the farmers. He asked the farmers to make use of Rythu Bandhu scheme and make use of subsidies to be offered.

He stated that the farmers can stock their produce in the government warehouses and storage houses free for six months and sell it when they got remunerative prices.

The government would offer 75 per cent interest-free loan on such stocks, he said. He also asked the farmers not to get confined to regular crops as that would not give better yield and instead focus on horticultural crops.