Nutritious food security is need of the hour: KTR

Hyderabad: Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao on Monday said that it was not food security, but nutritious food security is what the country now needs. KTR, along with Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy and Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy, inaugurated the Agri-Innovation Hub at Prof Jayashankar Telangana State Agriculture University here on Monday. He said that once providing food was a challenge in the country, which was successfully conquered, but now the real challenge is to provide nutritious food.

KTR stated that of the 28 States, Telangana was the only one giving 24-hour free power. "Interest-free loans are provided to farmers, input subsidy of Rs 10,000 for two crops a year is being extended under the Rythu Bandhu, Rs 15,000 crore is being spent on the scheme and life insurance to farmers is provided. The government is procuring total food grains produced by the farmers," said Rao.

KTR quipped that some statements were restricted to slogans like the Centre's announcement of doubling the income of farmers by 2022. "I don't say it has failed, but I did not see it succeed. Fortunately, there are four types of revolutions including Green, Blue (fishing), water (with irrigation projects) and now technological. The groundwater level in the State has increased to a larger extent. These are results of some good work by the government," he asserted. He asked the innovators to keep their doors open for all instead of restricting to a few.

Agriculture Minister Niranjan Reddy pointed out that the State was allocating Rs 60,000 crore annually to agriculture and its allied sectors only because it is the biggest employment provider in the country. "Production, employment and life standards has increased. There is a need to have agriculture-based industries, because if the agriculture products are exported, farmers will benefit," said Niranjan Reddy.

Reddy said, "Telangana farmers were innovators, they know how to charge their motors by using single phase." Appreciating the efforts of officials of the university, he said that technology should be used for innovation and asked them to compete with reputed foreign varsities.