Amravati, 22 September (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said on Monday that the state is searching for new markets for aquaculture products as the tariff imposed by the US has shocked the region.
He told the assembly that the state government is talking to the Center to find out the new markets for aquaculture. “Alternatively, we’ll look to increase domestic consumption,” he said.
Saying that Aqua Export from Andhra Pradesh is Rs 21,000 crore, Naidu said that due to the policies of US President Donald Trump, the region is facing a crisis.
While performing a powerpoint presentation in the assembly on agriculture and allied areas, the Chief Minister said that the state government is working on options to protect the Aqua farmers.
The state government is providing electricity to the registered Aqua farmers, despite the zone of Rs 1.50 per unit. It is also negotiating with companies to reduce the price of Aqua feed by Rs 9 per kg.
CM said, “As part of developing a maritime economy, we are also focusing on marine algae culture. This area will provide large -scale employment and job opportunities for the youth. There will be a large -scale opportunity to earn income through marine algae,” CM said.
He assured the House that the government will make the state in Aquaculture as well as agricultural products.
He told the MLAs that the government is committed to the welfare of farmers and is trying to provide MSP to agricultural products. The government is seriously considering the proposal to provide price for agricultural products.
He advised the MLA to visit the agricultural areas starting from October, talked to the farmers directly to know their problems, and told them that the state government has given them the steps to protect the interests of the farmers and make the agricultural sector profitable.
Given that Andhra Pradesh is second in the use of fertilizers and pesticides, he said that drones can be used to reduce the use of pesticides. Efforts are also being made to reduce the cost of farming using technology.
The Chief Minister said that farmers used urea as a booster dose due to floods, and an additional 1.16 lakh acres in the field of farming increased. He said that 16.70 lakh tonnes of urea was allocated for the kharif season, and the urea reserve in the state is currently 5.54 lakh tonnes.
The worrying concern is that due to the additional use of urea, soil health is being affected, leading to pests, reiterating that 800 rupees will be given as subsidy for farmers that reduce the use of urea.
The Chief Minister said that the government gave Rs 3,173 crore in the accounts of farmers under Anandata Sukhebhwa-PM Kisan Yojana. In addition, onion farmers were announced per hectare at a compensation of Rs 50,000, who suffered damage. The government also came to the rescue of mango, chilli, cocoa, cotton and tobacco farmers. He said that the government is focusing on food processing units to provide price in addition to agricultural products.
Saying that the agricultural sector is a main revenue source by contributing 35 percent to GSDP, the Chief Minister said that priority will be given to agriculture and allied sectors including horticulture. He said that by 2029, steps will be taken to increase the horticulture area to 25 lakh hectares to make Andhra Pradesh a horticulture center.
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MS/VD