AP Govt effected 'amazing turnaround' in agriculture: Minister

Hyderabad, May 4 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Minister N Raghuveera Reddy today said the state government had initiated several measures which resulted in 'amazing turnaround' of the farm sector and village economy.

Addressing the press here, Mr Reddy said when the Congress Government assumed power in the state, the farm sector was in a terrible condition with more than 4,000 farmers committing suicide the agriculture and irrigation sectors also suffered neglegence during the nine-year TDP rule. The village economy was in tatters.

The Congress Government led by Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy identified key areas and adopted several measures to pump life into the dying farm sector. Farm loans were a key component that had to be attended to quickly.

While the TDP Government disbursed Rs 9,667 crore to farmers in 2003-04, during the Congress regime it was Rs 15,718 crore by 2006-07 with the current year's target fixed at Rs 17,300 crore.

The present government not only increased lending but also brought down the interest rate to just seven per cent while cooperative banks charged just five per cent interest for the loans, 'an unparalleled achievement in the country for any state government.' The state government waged a long legal battle against a multinational company on pricing of BT cotton seed and successfully ensured the prices were brought down from Rs 1,850 per packet to Rs 750 per packet benefitting the farm community to the tune of up to Rs 200 crore during 2006 khariff season.

The budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector too had shot up under the Congress rule to Rs 615 crore for 2007-08 from Rs 294 crore during 2002-03 under the TDP rule.

To ensure quality seed supply, the government had supplied 27 lakh quintals of seed during 2006-07 with an aim to achieve 100 per cent seed supply in the next three years, he said.

MORE UNI