Farmer Welfare Top Priority, Says Atchannaidu
Atchannaidu described Andhra Pradesh as the “Annapurna of the nation” and said irrigation and agriculture were vital for the state’s growth.
Anantapur: Minister for agriculture Kinjarapu Atchannaidu on Saturday said farmer welfare is the foremost objective of the state government and assured continued support to the farming community.
Atchannaidu, along with industries minister T. G. Bharat, distributed compensation to onion farmers who suffered crop losses due to untimely heavy rains. The programme was held at the ZP High School grounds in Kodumur, Kurnool district.
Addressing the gathering, Atchannaidu said the government had sanctioned nearly Rs.130 crore to compensate onion farmers, providing Rs.50,000 per hectare as promised. He said over 31,000 farmers in Kurnool district alone benefited from the assistance.
The minister described Andhra Pradesh as the “Annapurna of the nation” and said irrigation and agriculture were vital for the state’s growth. He termed 2014–2019 as a golden period for the sector, during which ₹50,000 crore was spent on irrigation projects, raising agriculture’s contribution to the state GDP to 17 per cent.
He criticised the previous YSRC government for neglecting irrigation and agriculture, and cited measures taken by the present government to support chilli, cocoa, tobacco and mango farmers through market intervention and price support schemes.