Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad   

Centre urged to increase MSP

Special Correspondent

Any attempt to revive the farm sector will not succeed unless such pro-active measures are adopted, says YSR

KEEPSAKE: K. Ramakrishnan, CMD, Andhra Bank, presenting a memonto to Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy at Bancon-2006 in Hyderabad on Saturday. V.P. Shetty, CMD, IDBI Bank, is also seen. — PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU

HYDERABAD: Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy has urged the Centre to substantially increase the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for agricultural produce to help boost the growth rate of the sector to four per cent.

Any attempt to revive the farm sector will not succeed unless such pro-active measures are adopted, he said seeking an efficient crop insurance scheme to revive the stagnant farm sector. The State Government, on its part, has initiated various measures for increasing the irrigation potential through the Jala Yagnam programme involving an estimated investment of nearly Rs. 50,000 crores.

"Unless all these measures are taken together, achieving the targeted four per cent growth in agriculture will be a mirage," he said. The Chief Minister was delivering the special address at Bancon-2006, the annual banking event involving the participation of chairmen and managing directors of all the leading public and private sector banks here on Saturday.

Dr. Reddy lamented that while the country was registering a GDP growth of over seven per cent for the past few years, the growth in the agriculture sector remained less than one per cent.

Changed priorities

While the Governments during the first three decades of the State's formation concentrated on irrigation, agriculture and power, the priorities changed to populist schemes later throwing the farm sector into a crisis.

The Government was, therefore, rewriting the priorities. The allocation for irrigation during the next year would be Rs. 13,500 crores, he said. He appreciated the bankers for the help they were extending. Andhra Bank CMD K. Ramakrishnan spoke.

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