The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Wage employment scheme launch on October 2

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 21, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Wage employment scheme launch on October 2

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, SEPT. 20. The Chief Minister, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, has said the State Government will launch a wage employment scheme by integrating the Food-for-Work (FFW) programme and similar schemes to cover about 200 poor families in each village in 80 mandals in drought-affected districts.

Announcing this at a seminar on "Mission 2007 - Initiative for a hunger-free India" here on Monday, the Chief Minister said the State Government had decided to distribute 10 kg of rice free of cost to each destitute who had been abandoned by his/her family on account of migration.

The two schemes would be launched on October 2 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, he said.

Food security

He said during the last 10-15 years, the growth rate in agriculture had fallen and productivity levels had stagnated. Explaining measures taken by his Government like the introduction of the Agri-Technology mission to improve productivity to ensure higher per capita availability of foodgrains in the State, the Chief Minister said he hoped that before August 2007, his Government would eliminate hunger. He said absolute food security was the Government's objective.

Local nutrition

The Chairman of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, M. S. Swaminathan, in his welcome address said a 4 per cent increase in agriculture and improvement in health conditions of the malnourished population suffering from anaemia could contribute to the GDP growth by 2 per cent.

He suggested that local nutrition security be entrusted to self-help groups who could also handle fodder banks.

The World Food Programme's Country Director, Pedro Medrano, and Dr. Swarna S. Vepa of the MS Swaminathan Foundation spoke. The Chief Secretary, Mohan Kanda, proposed a vote of thanks.

The Mission 2007 Initiative for a hunger-free India, Regional consultation of the Southern and South Eastern States, was jointly organised by the Foundation, United Nation's World Food Programme and National Mission on farmers at the Marri Channa Reddy Human Research Development Institute of Andhra Pradesh.

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