In a bid to control rising vegetable prices, the Andhra Pradesh government is working out strategies to strengthen supply and aim at providing vegetables at reasonable prices throughout the year. It has proposed to establish an officers committee by drawing personnel the departments of horticulture, civil supplies, marketing and raithu bazzars, for the purpose.
The government also has proposed to increase the area under vegetable cultivation, besides improving individual income. In order to encourage farmers, the government has decided to double the subsidy for hybrid seeds from Rs 600 per acre to Rs 1,200 per acre.
Officials further opined that the additional subsidy would help the usage of hybrid seeds from the existing 40% to 70%. During the first week of April, horticulture officials distributed hybrid seed thus enhancing the area under cultivation by 36,768 hectare, officials said.
The proposed officers-committee is expected to visit each district and check if vegetables are available at affordable prices and have been invested with powers to intervene in the markets and, if required, moderate prices.
Further, the horticulture department was asked to outsource the agriculture officers exclusively for vegetable clusters in each district during sowing period to regulate land under vegetable cultivation. The department is also drafting crop-specific plans focusing exclusively on clusters. The time-bound action plans to encourage staggered sowing and regulate supplies by increasing the crop area under non-traditional crops.