Singireddy Niranjan Reddy
Q/Do you think the state government was right in pushing farmers towards paddy in the past few years?
A/It is not in our hands. When the Government of India changes its policy all of a sudden, what can we do? We have conveyed the same to the farmers. It is not our wish, having built projects and having given so many benefits to the farmers. The Centre cannot say godowns are full. That is its inefficiency. It should welcome the production and think of what can be done. [Union Minister] Nitin Gadkari has said that the Centre can produce CNG and ethanol (from rice). Agricultural produce can no longer be confined to the food sector alone. The Centre has no foresight and no international perspective.
Q/The Centre has said that it had told the state last year that it would not be procuring parboiled rice. Is that true?
A/That is true. But why has the Centre not appealed to the farmers across the country to not grow this crop? Parliament is in session now. Why can’t the Union agriculture minister appeal to farmers to not grow paddy in the second season? Why can’t the Centre be open about its policy? That is because it is politically motivated and is playing with farmers’ lives.
Q/Did the state government ask farmers to move away from paddy?
A/For the past one year, we have been trying to convince farmers to go for other crops. We have distributed literature and conducted training camps. We can see the result as several other crops like black gram, groundnut and mustard have come up during this rabi season. Diversification has started, but paddy cannot be replaced overnight.
Q/But many farmers have stuck with paddy.
A/If they want to go ahead with paddy cultivation despite an appeal by the chief minister, it will be at their own risk. They will have to sell it in the open market at whatever price they get.
Q/What are the alternative crops you want to focus on in the near future?
A/We have started palm oil cultivation. By next year, we should have 3.5 to 5 lakh acres under it; the following year, it should touch seven lakh acres. We will then concentrate on having 20 lakh acres. We also want to encourage the cultivation of cotton, red gram, pulses and other crops.