Srikakulam officials told to ready action plan for kharif

Officials must find ways to scale up the district GDP which can be possible by improving the productivity in agriculture and its allied sectors, Collector K Dhanunjaya Reddy said.

SRIKAKULAM: Blaming the lack of coordination among the agricultural officials for the less productivity in Srikakulam district, Collector K Dhanunjaya Reddy has asked them to prepare an action plan for the next cropping season well in advance.

The collector, during a review meeting with agriculture, horticulture, fishier and NREGA officials here on Tuesday, insisted that the officials must find ways to scale up the district GDP which can be possible by improving the productivity in agriculture and its allied sectors.

“We must set a target to scale up district GDP by the end of the upcoming kharif season. The district registered highest rainfall of 1,140 mm last year, besides having two major and a few minor rivers. Still, the farm productivity was comparatively low when compared to other district,” he observed.

Despite receiving not more than 450 mm rain per annum, the farm productivity in Anantapur was more than that of Srikakulam.

In the next two years, the district must be equal as the twin Godavari districts in paddy production, he said.
Speaking on sugarcane harvest, he said the productivity in the district was not even 50 per cent than that of Nellore.

“It is high time, the agriculture and allied departments worked in unison and each department must come up with a plan of action for the next cropping season,” he said.  

Expressing his displeasure over the farm ponds and bore wells, he recalled that the authorities had dug up 72 bore wells against the target of 1,500, under the NTR Jalasiri scheme last season, while only 3,623 farm ponds were grounded against the 1,500 applications received. He asked the officials to mobilise farmers to dig up 3,500 bore wells by the June-end.

Assuring the authorities of fund allocation, he said that he would negotiate the higher-ups to release not less than Rs 25 crore for farm mechanisation.

Though the officials were confined to Rs 1,130 crore in the form of crop loans, he said that the target should not be less than Rs 2,500 crore for the coming kharif.