FARMER-FRIENDLY APPROACH: Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy arriving on a bullock cart at the Rythu Sadassu in Duggirala market yard in Guntur district on Tuesday. — Photo: T. Vijaya Kumar

DUGGIRALA (GUNTUR DT.): The State Government was farmer-friendly and doing its best with 51 per cent of its budget earmarked for ryots, but the benefits would accrue only when they positively implement the Government policies, said Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

Addressing a large gathering of farmers here on Tuesday at the inaugural of the `Rythu Sadassu', he asked them not to go in for chilli again in kharif because this year it fetched them good price, as the prices could fall next year as had happened in the past two years. He also advised them to go in for other crops that had Minimum Support Price.

Comprehensive plan

The Government was planning a comprehensive development plan for the farming community that encompasses even animal husbandry, he added. "We have asked the agriculture officers to be on the field five days in a week and if you do not find them there do write to me or the Agriculture Minister N. Raghuveera Reddy, we will ensure that they attend to your needs," Dr. Reddy told farmers amid applause.

Dr. Reddy said that the Government took US President George Bush to the Agriculture University and gave the farmers and self-help groups a chance to interact with him so that the experience could be beneficial to them unlike the TDP Government that had called only the big industrialists and investors for meeting former US President Bill Clinton, he observed.

Water for delta

Water would be released to the Krishna delta from June 15 and Nagarjunasagar would be filled in time to meet the needs of delta farmers, he assured them. He asked farmers to go in for cash crops only in two-thirds of their holding so that the other MSP crops would come to their rescue in case of a failure.

The Minister for Transport and Cooperation Kanna Lakshminarayana, Revenue Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao, along with Tenali and Guntur MPs Vallabhaneni Balashourie and Rayapati Sambasiva Rao were present on the dais. Others who participated in the Rythu Sadassu included the Duggirala MLA Gudibadi Venkata Reddy and majority of the MLAs from Guntur district.

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