Hyderabad: Telangana agriculture minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy said on Friday that farmers in the state should give preference to small grains and millets. He added that the Telangana government has been appealing to the farmers to increase the cultivation of pulses, millets and oilseeds.
The minister spoke at the inaugural National Conference on Small Grains at HICC under the aegis of the Indian Institute of Millet Research.
“Farmers should be guided to grow produce keeping in view the contemporary conditions and food habits of the world from the agricultural sector. In the last eight years, there is amazing progress in the cultivation of crops and products in the state of Telangana,” he stated.
“One crore 45 lakh 44 thousand acres of agricultural and horticultural crops are growing in this monsoon season,” he said.
“Telangana was famous for small grains in the past. It has decreased over time. India has a chance to capture the world market in the future by increasing the expansion of millets,” he added.
He added that the Central government declared the year 2023 as the Year of Cereals to focus on the increase in consumption of small grains.
“If the farmers are to switch to small grains cultivation, the Centre should encourage the farmers to announce the support price and buy whole grains like other crops. Through this, we will get more income and the country will grow from the condition of importing to the condition of exporting,” he stated.
Minister Singireddy hoped for encouragement from the central government towards such projects.
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