SIDDIPET: Finance Minister T Harish Rao said that the Central government is responsible for purchasing any crop grown by farmers in the country and that the BJP-led government, like all previous governments should buy paddy grown by Telangana farmers.
A day after TRS legislators returned from Delhi after failing to get written assurance that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) will procure Kharif rice from the State, Harish Rao lashed out at the Central government while addressing the crowd at various functions he attended in Siddipet on Saturday.
He said that it wasn't right on the part of Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, to mock Telangana Ministers saying that they didn't have any work and were repeatedly coming to Delhi.
He explained that matters of food safety matter fall under the ambit of the Union government, and thus, the State Ministers wanted to explain the plight of farmers.
Harish Rao added that in addition to normal crop cultivation in the district, Siddipet has ample resources for quality seed production and seed processing. He said that Siddipet has many resources and facilities to develop as a seed hub.
The Minister also pointed out that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Agriculture Market Committee and the Siddipet Degree College to develop skills and increase the income of farmers.
He said that the students pursuing economics in the Government Degree College, Siddipet, will study the price of agricultural commodities and understand the marketing process, enabling them to acquire practical knowledge by observing the market yard and marketing approach.
MP K Prabhakar Reddy, MLC Farooq Hussain, Zilla Praja Parishad Chairperson Veleti Roja Sharma, District Rythu Bandhu Samithi president Vanga Nagireddy and others were also present.