The State government will explore joining hands with International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to implement methods for improving profitability of paddy farmers in Telangana. The proposed programme also seeks to increase nutritional security through rice-based agri food system in the State.
Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy on Tuesday said he would place the proposals mooted by IRRI before Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. The IRRI proposed project would be helpful to farmers and result in water and time saving technologies being implemented in paddy cultivation, he said.
The Minister was speaking at Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University on Tuesday at an interaction with IRRI scientists led by Deputy Director General, Research, IRRI, Dr Jacquelin Hughes. The State government was spending more than Rs 20,000 crore on the agriculture sector to make farming a profitable activity in Telangana in addition to implementing several programmes for welfare of the farming community, he said.
Dr Hughes said the proposed project would ensure doubling of farmers’ income, sustainable water management in agriculture, developing of stress tolerant rice varieties for sustainable farming and developing of low glycemic index varieties of rice which are particularly suitable for consumption by diabetic patients.
IRRI, she said, was ready to provide, through the project, mechanisation and post-harvest business models, capacity development and knowledge exchange to scholars, staff, and farmers. It will also be possible to implement these methods to increase yields of other crops such as pulses, she said.
University Vice-Chancellor Dr V Praveen Rao said the programme would be a good opportunity for the university scientists to gain international exposure. Director, IRRI Varanasi Centre, Dr Aravind Kumar, several IRRI scientists, Director of Research Dr R Jagadeeshwar, scientists from PJTSAU and university officers attended the meeting.