El Niño Challenge Prompts AP To Redraw Crop Strategy
Chief Minister urges diversification, natural farming and scientific cultivation practices.
Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday directed officials to formulate a comprehensive crop cultivation strategy to help farmers overcome the challenges posed by the El Niño weather conditions and ensure sustainable agricultural growth across Andhra Pradesh.
Reviewing the performance of the agriculture, horticulture and aquaculture sectors, the Chief Minister stressed the need for special attention to crop planning in view of the changing climatic conditions. Officials, he said, must examine opportunities for crop diversification and provide timely advisories to farmers based on lessons they learned during the previous agricultural season.
Naidu emphasised that the state should actively encourage farmers to adopt natural farming on a larger scale.
He noted that countries across the world are increasingly focusing on certification standards for agricultural produce and said extensive awareness programmes must be conducted to educate farmers on emerging global requirements. “I would personally participate in farmer outreach and awareness campaigns,” he said.
Calling for greater adoption of scientific cultivation practices, Naidu reviewed issues related to the production and marketing of chilli, tobacco and Totapuri mango. He asked officials to organise a meeting with tobacco buyers and explore options for enabling farmers to store their produce until remunerative prices are available in the market.
The chief minister also asked officials to prepare plans for expanding the cultivation of pulses, which currently enjoy strong market demand, so that farmers can secure better returns. He said continuous analysis of both market arrivals and standing crops was necessary to guide future policy decisions.
Naidu further stressed the importance of value addition in agriculture and horticulture. In the aquaculture sector, he asked officials to convene meetings with aqua farmers, industry associations and aqua feed manufacturers to address sector-specific concerns.
Reiterating the government's commitment to supporting farmers during difficult times, the CM said protecting and strengthening the farming community remained his government’s priority.
Agriculture minister K Atchannaidu, chief secretary Sai Prasad and senior officials attended the review meeting.
