Anantapur: ‘Project Anantha’ project director S. Chandramouli has said the innovate project with an estimate of Rs 7,676 crore in the five year period from 2013-14 to 2017-18 proposed to improvise agriculture and allied sectors along with processing and marketing facilities at global standards.
The project was designed towards serious measures against decades long drought situation and planning to introduce research activities with the help of universities of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, sericulture and other allied subjects which could build confidence among farmers.
Speaking to media on Friday, Chandramouli hoped the project could bring usher among the farmers as against previous programmes introduced in the district. “The ICAR team led by Ayyappan had inspected the district twice, interacted with farmers and made many suggestions to overcome drought situation,” he said.
the state project director and adding the Project Anantha got approved by the cental government with an estimated Rs7676 crore including sources of an amount Rs.3550 crore from various departmental resources, subsidy, beneficiary contribution and also through convergence from the ongoing flagship programmes of Government of India. And also intends to source another amount of Rs.836 crore of the total outlay as institutional finance through banks and NABARD.
Referring to various measures proposed, he said enhancing the productivity of groundnut which is the largest rainfed crop in the district, institutionalizing seed chain management. It is planned to divert farmers from paddy to irrigate dry crops and dry horticulture and also to shift to various crops.
Efficient management of rainwater, encouraging farmers towards rearing of milch animals and sheep rearing as important alternatives, he observed. And also said sericulture is more profitable through providing market internventions.
"We are concentrating on processing units including encouragement for cultivation of quinova crop at large scale in the district", Chandramouli said.
At least each village from 14 Assembly segments would be taken up and later extended to many villages as part of project, he said.
