Vijayawada: Chief Minister Jagan Reddy on Monday directed agriculture and civil supplies officials to come up with guidelines on how to help the farmers get all requisite support -- from cultivation of crops to sale of produce through Rythu Bharosa Kendras -- in coordination with other line departments.
Chairing a high-level review meeting on the two departments with agriculture minister Govardhan Reddy, civil supplies minister Nageswara Rao and top officials here, the CM said the RBKs were doing a lot of work to help the farmers. These ranged from arranging quality seeds to purchase of produce, providing free power etc, the CM noted.
Jagan said departments like agriculture, fisheries, revenue, civil supplies, disaster management etc must work in coordination to strengthen the hands of farmers so as to get better yield. Officials were told by the CM to organise a high-level meeting to discuss such issues.
Soil tests must be conducted without fail, he said, and added that indiscriminate use of fertilisers, pesticides and other chemicals must be avoided as these were harmful to life. Officials must keep a tab on the cultivation process in this context, Jagan said.
The chief minister asked the officials to issue soil health cards to farmers on a regular basis and spread awareness among the farmers on the use of inputs for cultivation. This would help avoid indiscriminate use of fertilizers, he said.
Jagan drew a comparison as to how a doctor would help a patient, and said he wanted RBKs to play such a role vis-a-vis farmers. Officials must come up with a programme similar to the family doctor concept, for the benefit of farmers in the cultivation of crops.
The CM asked officials to gear up for purchase of the paddy raised during the kharif season and said the minimum support price must be ensured to farmers. He asked officials to ensure there is no role for millers in paddy procurement. Officials must give wide publicity on norms for paddy procurement so as to avoid fraudulent practices.
The CM called for the setting up of weighing bridges at RBK level and said there was the need to rope in women employees from village secretariats for paddy purchase. Officials must arrange incentives to them, he said.
