‘Farm sector needs national planning’

HYDERABAD: Chief minister Chandrababu Naidu appealed to agricultural scientists to suggest cost-effective cultivation methods to meet the challenges of globalisation.
Speaking after inaugurating the 27th convention of the Indian Agricultural Universities Association (IAUA) on Monday, Naidu said agriculture was still the backbone of the Indian economy as more than 60 per cent of the population depended on it for livelihood.
Though the contribution of agriculture to GDP had come down from 31 per cent (1993-94) to 27.1 per cent (1999-2000), the burden of providing jobs still lies largely on the farm sector, he said. Despite having huge stocks of foodgrains, poverty still persists due to decline in the purchasing power, he added.
Expressing concern over the non-availability of accurate data on crop pattern, Naidu said that farmers had still not been guided properly on the commercial aspects of agriculture.
Criticising the Export and Import (Exim) policies of the Centre for its “lopsided� priorities, he echoed the importance of national level planning on agriculture. “There is no value addition to the agricultural produce as farmers still practising the age-old methods,� he said.
Even though India enjoyed premier position in the production of several agri-horticultural commodities, dairy and fishery products, its processing industry has not seen enough growth to cash in on the benefits, said IAUA president and vice-chancellor of Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU), I V Subba Rao.
Rao said that India had hardly processed about two per cent of its produce, compared to 30 per cent in Thailand, 78 per cent in Philippines and 80 per cent in Malaysia. The present public policies needed drastic change if Indian farmers had to survive in the global market, he added.
“Biotechnology is a powerful tool as it would complement the existing technologies to solve the problems of farm sector,� said director-general of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Panjab Singh.
Agriculture minister V Sobhanadreeswara Rao asked scientists to deliberate on the viability of the genetically modified (GM) crops.
ANGRAU registrar S Raghuvardhan Reddy and others were present.
At the end of the meeting, the students of Veterinary College had gheraoed Sobhanadreeswara Rao, asking him not to recruit veterinary doctors on contract basis.