Hyderabad: Telangana Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao has urged the Centre to support an Agro-Business Park and a Centre of Excellence for semi-arid horticulture crops in Kodangal. He made the request while participating in the National Rabi Conference in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Tummala highlighted Telangana’s efforts in crop diversification, climate-resilient farming, digital agriculture and farm infrastructure. He also outlined measures related to agricultural credit and support for farmers.
The minister said crop diversification had become important amid El Niño conditions, erratic rainfall and prolonged dry spells. Therefore, farmers were being encouraged to choose alternative crops based on weather conditions and water availability.
Telangana secured the second position in the country in pulse cultivation during the current Kharif season, Tummala said. Pulse acreage also increased by 36% compared with the previous Kharif season.
Tummala also sought additional support for farmers facing drought-like conditions. He urged the Centre to include maize and sorghum under the Price Support Scheme.
He further sought special Central assistance for mandals recording deficit and severe-deficit rainfall. According to the minister, such support should consider conditions at the ground level rather than rely only on average rainfall figures for the state.
In addition, Tummala requested Central assistance for micro irrigation, protective irrigation and water conservation structures. These measures, he said, would help strengthen Telangana’s resilience to drought.
Oil palm expansion adds to Telangana’s agriculture push
Tummala also highlighted the response of Telangana farmers to the Centre’s oil palm promotion initiative. The area under oil palm has expanded by around 1.10 lakh hectares, with nearly 72,000 new farmers taking up the crop, he said.
At the same time, the minister urged the Centre to restore the import duty on crude palm oil to 44%. He argued that import policies should also protect farmers as India promotes domestic oil palm cultivation as a long-term crop.
The minister also raised concerns about the shortage of Krishi Vigyan Kendras in Telangana. Although the state has 33 districts, only 16 KVKs are currently functioning, he said.
Tummala therefore urged the Centre and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research to sanction 16 additional KVKs for Telangana. He said stronger agricultural extension services would help transfer new technologies from research and educational institutions to farmers more quickly.
The requests for the Agro-Business Park and horticulture centre in Kodangal formed part of Tummala’s broader appeal for Central support. His proposals also covered irrigation, drought resilience, crop support, oil palm cultivation and agricultural extension services.
