VIJAYAWADA: The Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) in Andhra Pradesh have promoted drought-tolerant varieties of different crops to provide technological and other aid to farmers in the areas that are impacted by drought-like conditions.
Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Arjun Munda said the KVKs have promoted drought-tolerant varieties of different crops (SIA- 3088 and Suryanandi of foxtail millet; PRG-176, LRG 105, LRD 52, TRG 59 and PRG 176 red gram; NBeG-49 of Bengal gram; Kadiri Chitravati, and TCGS 1694 of groundnut) by producing 74.2 quintals seeds of these crop varieties and providing them to the farmers. The Centre has also provided Rs 987.20 crore to AP under the State Disaster Response Fund during 2023-24.
Arjun Munda informed this in the Lok Sabha in response to a question raised by YSRC MP PV Midhun Reddy on the functioning of KVKs and the assistance given by them to the farmers to adopt new farming technologies.
In all, 24 KVKs have been set up in AP with two each in Anantapur, Chittoor, East Godavari, Guntur, Krishna, Kurnool, Prakasam, Nellore, Visakhapatnam, West Godavari and Kadapa and one each in Srikakulam and Vizianagaram.
They have also helped in capacity development of 46,442 farmers on various aspects of cultivation of horticultural crops and about 8,200 farmers on various aspects of fisheries technologies. The KVKs have also produced 620 quintals of seed and 92 lakh planting material of horticultural crops and 15 lakh fish fingerlings for horticulture and fish farmers, he said.