'Make farming profitable vocation in Telangana': KCR to agriculture dept

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao held a review meeting with officials from the agriculture department at Pragathi Bhavan in which he urged them to make farming a profitable vocation in the state.

Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy, Rythu Bandhu state president Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, Government's Chief Advisor Rajiv Sharma, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, Principal Secretary (Agriculture) B Janardhan Reddy, among others were present at the meeting held on Wednesday.

KCR said there should be a major transformation from the existing traditional farming methods in the state and asked the agriculture department to guide and lead the farmers, educate them about the strength of the orgsed sector vis-a-vis the unorgsed sector, impart better agriculture practices and profitable methods.

He added that the government is ready to allot more posts to the department if the need arises.

"To develop the agriculture sector, the efforts put in in the Telangana are unparalled and no one ever made such an attempt in the history of independent India till now. We have spent crores of rupees, constructed major projects, and are giving water free of cost to farmers. We have abolished the water cess completely. Moreover, we have written off the old dues. Uninterrupted, 24x7 quality power is supplied to the farm sector free of cost," KCR said at the meeting.

"Agriculture should become profitable in Telangana. Ultimately, farmers should become rich. For this, the government is making several attempts and spending more funds. If the government's efforts are to be fruitful, the agriculture department should play a very active role. Modern agriculture practices should replace traditional ones. Study the farming practices the world over and implement them in the state. Mechsation should increase," he added.

The Telangana Chief Minister also said that the construction of Rythu Vedika cluster-wise will be completed in the next three months. "The Rythu Vedikas will become the farmer's awareness dias, anyone including the Chief Minister will be able to interact with the farmers directly."

( With inputs from ANI )