Naidu insists on scientific crop planning that aligns with global and domestic market trends

The Hindu

23-05-2025

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has directed the Agriculture Department to prioritise scientific crop planning aligned with global and domestic market trends to protect the State's farmers.
'Informing farmers about suitable crops and cultivation areas beforehand ensures a balanced supply-demand ecosystem. Cultivation must be restricted to crops with strong market demand to safeguard farmers' income,' Mr. Naidu said during a teleconference with officials and Ministers on Thursday.
Mr. Naidu advised RTGS and agriculture officials to continually monitor global developments, market trends, and crop yields for informed planning. Both short-term and long-term challenges in agriculture must be addressed through the Cabinet Sub-Committee, which now had Ministers Gottipati Ravi Kumar and Ramanaidu as new members.
Referring to cocoa, the Chief Minister instructed officials to ensure companies procured it at ₹500 per kg, and stated that farmers should not be forced to sell below that rate. 'If necessary, the government will step in to procure directly,' he said. Currently, cocoa stocks were estimated at 1,200–1,500 tonnes, of which 600 tonnes were with the farmers.
The Chief Minister directed the officials to take steps to procure approximately 20 million kg of HD Burley tobacco currently held by the farmers. As there was no market demand, a crop holiday had been declared for HD Burley this year to prevent losses.
Officials were told to collect accurate data via an app on the volume of HD Burley stock held by each farmer. A dedicated cell in the Tobacco Board was now tracking daily procurement, he said.
Due to lack of orders, mango pulp procurement slowed. Mr. Naidu urged officials to ensure pulp processing companies resumed procurement immediately. However, officials explained that old stock and lack of bank loans for pulp companies limited their capacity to purchase fresh stock.
To resolve this, the Chief Minister directed the officials to facilitate bank loans for pulp processing companies. He also noted that 40% GST on pure fruit juices impacted mango demand and announced plans to seek GST reduction from the Centre.
Ministers K. Atchannaidu (Agriculture), Nadendla Manohar (Civil Supplies), Gottipati Ravi Kumar (Energy), Mr. Ramanaidu (Water Resources), and Payyavula Keshav (Finance) were present.