Need to focus on agri needs of states stressed

Visakhapatnam: Department of agriculture and farmers welfare secretary Devesh Chaturvedi highlighted key initiatives of the Union ministry, including Horticulture Mission, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and Krishonnati Yojana (KY), enabling states to create and implement tailored action plans to benefit farmers and stakeholders.

The department of agriculture and farmers welfare, in collaboration with department of agriculture, Andhra Pradesh organised a regional conference for southern states in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.

Attending as guest, Devesh Chaturvedi emphasised the importance of organising state-level conferences to address region-specific agricultural challenges, ensuring every state receives focused attention and support for their needs.

Speaking on the occasion, additional chief secretary (Agriculture), Government of Andhra Pradesh Budithi Rajsekhar said tenant farmers pay critical role in agriculture by contributing to 80-90 per cent of agricultural activities. He underscored the need for targeted crop loans to empower cultivators and highlighted several impactful case studies that demonstrate efforts to improve farmers’ livelihoods at the grassroots level.

Department of agriculture and farmers welfare joint secretary (policy and coordination) Perin Devi outlined the conference’s agenda, stressing the importance of reviewing the implementation and progress of major schemes under the department.

Additional Secretary DA&FW Maninder Kaur Dwivedi delivered a presentation on operationalisation of schemes of RKVY. She provided an overview of the progress made under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), an umbrella initiative that integrates various agricultural schemes. She spoke about the flexibility granted to states under RKVY to devise and implement their own action plans tailored to region specific needs.

Further, she briefed KY’s role in enhancing food security and agricultural self- sufficiency and highlighted the flexibility given to the states to reallocate funds between components. Additional secretary, DA&FW, Shubha Thakur responded to the queries and provided clarifications during the session.

The conference focused on reviewing key departmental schemes, discussing progress in agricultural development, farmers’ welfare and related initiatives.

Representatives from northern states also participated and shared their suggestions for the effective implementation of the schemes.

Among others, additional secretary, DA&FW Pramod Kumar Meherda, advisor to the Government of AP (agriculture) Vijay Kumar, joint secretary (IC, oilseeds & credit) Ajeet Kumar Sahu, joint secretary (plant protection), Muktanand Agarwal, joint secretary (NRM & RFS), were present.