AP Agriculture Minister K. Atchannaidu has requested Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to set up a chilli board in Guntur, a cashew board in Srikakulam and a mango board in Chittoor. He has requested that a Central Agriculture University be set up in Srikakulam district as per the AP Reorganization Act.
Atchannaidu, who is on a visit to Delhi, met the union minister in the chamber, along with Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ramamohan Naidu. On this occasion, he was briefed on the farmers’ issues in AP and requested the Union Minister to extend full cooperation to the central government for the development of agriculture in the state.
Atchannaidu specifically mentioned the problems faced by mango farmers and appealed to the Center to stand by the farmers who grew Totapuri mangoes in Chittoor district. He said that the farmers are suffering due to the fall in the price of Totapuri mangoes. He said that the AP government had to intervene as the price had fallen to Rs. 8.
Minister Atchannaidu explained that the AP government had fixed a price of Rs. 12 as the support price under the Price Deficit Payment Scheme. He revealed that 6.5 lakh metric tons of Totapuri have to be purchased and the state government is spending Rs. 260 crores. He asked for the Center’s participation in market intervention by contributing half of the amount, Rs 130 crore.
To protect the interests of farmers, the AP Minister sought the release of financial assistance of Rs. 260 crore under the Market Support Scheme (MIS) in the wake of the price collapse. He appealed for an increase in subsidy for micro irrigation schemes for eight backward districts of North Coast and Rayalaseema in the state.
Minister Atchannaidu requested the central government to provide additional assistance to AP on the lines of Bundelkhand. Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan responded positively to Minister Atchannaidu’s requests. He assured that the problems would be resolved soon.
