Govt to promote 11 major crops as 'Growth Engines'

THE Andhra Pradesh government has unveiled an ambitious plan to promote 11 key agricultural crops as 'Growth Engines' to increase farmers' income, regulate crop production, and boost productivity.

- S GURU SRIKANTH @ Vijayawada

This initiative, highlighted in the recent Agriculture Budget presented by Agriculture Minister K Atchannaidu in the State Assembly, aligns with the State's vision of achieving a $2.4 trillion economy by 2047 under the Swarna Andhra @2047 framework.

The strategy emphasises farmers and agri-tech as one of the 10 guiding principles to drive a 15% annual growth rate, focusing on increasing the productivity of these crops and expanding natural farming.

The 11 crops identified for promotion include cereals (maize, jowar, paddy and millets), pulses (black gram, red gram and bengal gram), oilseeds (groundnut and sesame), fiber (cotton), and commercial crops (tobacco).

According to senior officials from the Agriculture Department, these crops cater to diverse needs—food for human consumption, feed and fodder for animal husbandry, and fuel, particularly bio-ethanol.