Telangana Agriculture Minister Unveils a Crop Diversification Strategy for Profitable Farming

Telangana Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy said that now the State government has planned to create a cotton research facility in Adilabad, a red gram seed research center in Tandur, palm oil processing factories, and a cold storage facility at Koheda fruit market over the coming days. 

Niranjan Reddy, who presided over a review meeting with officials from Agriculture, Horticulture, Marketing, Warehouse, Oil Fed, and other allied departments and corporate entities in Hyderabad, stated that actions were being taken to assist in crop diversification and enhance seed yield and quality, to make farming lucrative with long-term provisions in place. 

He stated that a committee was being formed to monitor the quality of oil palm from the nursery to the transplantation stage, and also that palm oil processing companies were being established in Khammam district's Vemsoor mandal, Siddipet, and Mahabubabad. In addition, the Beechupalli plant is being turned into a palm oil facility, which will be operational in the next six months, according to the Minister.

Mentioning that the State government has committed to expanding oil palm cultivation across 20 lakh acres over the next 4 years, Niranjan Reddy stated that oil palms will be sown on one lakh acres during the upcoming Kharif season. 

He stated that the cold storage facility being put in place in the Koheda fruit market would help tackle the issues of seed shortfalls for potato farmers, citing the wide gap between potato production and consumption in the State, that has resulted in imported products from other States approaching Rs 1,000 crore annually. 

Crop colonies will be developed across the state to encourage farmers to opt for a banana, chili, cottonseed, red gram, mango, and other horticulture crops, according to CM K Chandra sekhar Rao, by advertising and promoting crops unique to places where they are cultivated widely, the Minister said. Crop debts totaling Rs 17,000 crore were waived for 40 lakh farmers, Rythu Bima claims to total Rs 3,695.10 crore were distributed to 73,902 farmers, and Rythu Vedikas were built from across the state at Rs 573 crore. 

In response to a question from BJP MP Dharmapuri Arvind, Union Minister of State for Food Processing and Industries Prahlad Singh Patel stated that his Ministry was implementing to provide financial, technological, and business support for the advancement of micro food processing enterprises, such as turmeric processing.