VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has directed officials to initiate measures to increase the utilisation of drones in agriculture in the State. Reviewing the implementation of various programmes in agriculture and allied sectors at an official meeting at his camp office on Friday, he said the officials should ready master trainers to give necessary training in maintenance and repair of drones to students of one polytechnic or ITI in every Assembly constituency.

Steps should also be taken to provide more farm machinery to farmers under the YSR Yantra Seva Scheme to reduce cultivation costs. Every kiosk in Rythu Bharosa Kendras should have uninterrupted internet connectivity for its effective functioning, he asserted.Stating that the YSR Free Crop Insurance Scheme will be paired with the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Jagan asked the officials to ensure that farmers get the maximum benefit out of it.

He further directed them to ensure the supply of quality seeds and other farm inputs to farmers. There should be no lapses in the supply of fertilisers to farmers and the officials should promptly respond to any problem brought to their notice by farmers, he averred.The officials informed the Chief Minister that an adequate quantity of fertilisers have been stocked to supply them to farmers through RBKs during Kharif season. Senior agriculture officials were asked to monitor the distribution of seeds and fertilisers to farmers, besides the prices of agriculture products.

Reviewing e-crop, the Chief Minister instructed the authorities to complete it fully by the first week of September without any lapses. The e-crop process should be closely monitored on a daily basis and both physical and digital receipts should be issued. The officials should also rectify if there are any mistakes on the web land, he stressed.

Briefing the Chief Minister on Kharif operations, the officials stated that the State recorded 16.2% more rainfall till August 3. The area under cultivation is estimated to be 36.82 lakh hectares in the current Kharif season and crops have already been sown in 18.8 lakh hectares, they informed.

Agriculture Minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy, AP Agriculture Mission Vice-Chairman MVS Nagireddy, Government Advisor (Agriculture) Ambati Krishna Reddy, Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma, Special Chief Secretary (Agriculture) Poonam Malakondaiah and Agriculture Commissioner C Harikiran were present.