HYDERABAD: The Centre and Telangana government will work together on district-specific contingency plans to deal with rainfall variability, water stress and changing climatic conditions, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Friday.
Addressing the Southern States Regional Agriculture Conference in Hyderabad, Chouhan said the impact of El Nino and deficient rainfall was being felt in parts of southern India and stressed the need to prepare for the upcoming Rabi season.
“Every state has different conditions. The challenges faced by Andhra Pradesh or Telangana cannot necessarily be the same as those faced by other regions,” he said.
Stressing the importance of regional agriculture planning, the Union minister said Telangana and other southern states should promote crop diversification and less water-intensive crops in areas where groundwater levels were declining. The Centre would work with state governments and agricultural scientists to assess rainfall, water availability and crop requirements and formulate suitable strategies.
He said the three key objectives of agriculture were food security, farmers’ livelihoods and nutritional security. “The farmer who feeds the nation must also live a secure and prosperous life,” he said, emphasising the need to increase farmers’ incomes.
Chouhan also highlighted the potential of horticulture in southern India, particularly coconut, cashew, cocoa, spices and coffee. He also stressed the importance of pulses, particularly toor dal, masoor dal and urad dal, grown in Telangana.
He said coconut exports had risen from Rs 4,349 crore to Rs 7,038 crore in one year, a 62% increase, and urged southern states to take advantage of the new coconut promotion scheme announced in the Union Budget.
For Telangana, he stressed the importance of identifying export opportunities created by Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and encouraging farmers to produce commodities that meet international quality standards.
The minister also called for greater use of Soil Health Cards to ensure balanced fertiliser application and said scientific technologies, including grafting and budding, could help rejuvenate old plantations. He also sought time-bound implementation of Farmer IDs, AgriStack and other agricultural initiatives.
The Centre, states, scientists and farmers must work as “one agriculture team” and focus on measurable outcomes, he said.
