Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav along with District Collector Vinod Kumar V. and other elected representatives from the district, at the Anantha Horticulture Conclave held in Anantapur on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: R.V.S. PRASAD
Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav said that the State government will provide policy support to make the district country’s horticulture hub.
Inaugurating the first Anantha Horticulture Conclave in the city on Wednesday, Mr. Keshav said that the district had exported more than one lakh tonnes of banana recently to Iran through Container Corporation of India train rakes, and a similar marketing push will be given for five other horticulture products also. With the conclave receiving good response, the Minister announced that it would be an annual event.
Mr. Keshav said that the need of the hour was to provide end-to-end solutions for horticulture produce from nursery to marketing stage. “This will ensure that Anantapur district contributes to 25 percent to State GVA (Gross Value Added) as part of the Swarnadhra 2047,’’ said Mr Keshav. He said helping companies invest in logistics, cold chain and farmers’ support systems will give an impetus to this vision.
Mr. Keshav said that the TDP government will take up the widening of the Handri-Neeva canal immediately during the current agriculture season so that all the 12 pumpsets can be operated and more cultivable lands can be given irrigation water. “The project will be completed within the next 12 months,” the Minister said.
Speaking on the occasion, Special Chief Secretary, Horticulture and Agriculture, Budithi Rajasekhar, said that there were many challenges in achieving the dream, but the government was determined to overcome them. “The per hectare banana yield was 65 million tonnes (MTs) in Anantapur, which was very close to 70.2 MTs in Turkey, the world’s best. Maintaining the supply chain, improving the product quality and packaging along with developing value-addition were the immediate requirements for the horticulture sector to reach its desired target,” he said. The post-harvest losses were 15 to 20 percent, which had to be brought down to nine percent, he added.
Mr Rajasekhar said the Central and State governments were giving a push to 11 priority crops in 24 clusters, out of which six — banana, dry chilli, sweet orange, tomato, mango and dragon fruit — were in Anantapur.
District Collector Vinod Kumar V, who presided over the inaugural session, said that the aim was to make Anantapur a global brand, for which MoUs were signed with seven companies during the conclave for various aspects of improving productivity of identified horticulture crops. He said that support will be provided in the pre-harvest, production and post-harvest stages.
Elected representatives from the district, Kalava Srinivasulu, Paritala Sunitha, and others participated in the event. MOUs were signed with seven companies — Micro Algae Solutions, Siddhartha Cold Storage, Kousuri Bajaj Agro, Green Gurukulam, Agro Life Science Croporation and Puro Natural — during the conclave.
Published – February 05, 2025 08:21 pm IST