HYDERABAD: Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy said Rythu Bandhu scheme had helped mostly small and marginal farmers in the state. Speaking to reporters in Delhi on Saturday, the Minister said that of the total farmers in the state, 98.24 per cent were marginal and small farmers, and the big farmers, who had 25 acres or more, were only 0.11 per cent.
The Minister said that agriculture sector was ruined in during the combined Andhra Pradesh rule. “Now, the TRS government is according top priority for the sector. We are supplying 24X7 free power supply to 23 lakh agriculture motors and took up Kaleshwaram, Palamuru-Rangarddy and other irrigation projects to irrigate one acres of land,” the Minister added.
The Agriculture Minister said that all the irrigation projects would be completed by 2019. We are constructing Rythu Vedikas at a cost of `12 lakh each and allocated `300 crore in the Budget, the Agriculture Minister said, who earlier received an award from a media house for the best agricultural practices in TS.Later, he called on Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and sought more funds for oil palm cultivation in the state .
3 cheers for Telangana
At the 52nd summit of Skoch Awards in Delhi on Saturday, principal agriculture secretary C Parthasarathi received three Skoch awards. He received Telangana - State of the Year in Agriculture and Platinum award and Order of Merit award for Rythu Bandhu scheme - from Skoch CEO Sameer Kochhar