Hyderabad, Feb 22 (UNI) Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said that agriculture as a profession is becoming unsustainable and there is a need to make it more attractive and sustainable.

He also stressed on the need for crop diversification and adding value by food processing.

Delivering his inaugural address at the second edition of Agritech South organized jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Prof Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU), Mr Naidu said farmers need to diversify to others allied sectors like dairy and poultry to make agriculture more sustainable. Sericulture, horticulture and fish/prawn culture is in great demand and farmers should venture into them along with agriculture, he said.

Mr Naidu also urged the students and research community to spend half of their time on the field with the farmers to gain practical exposure and knowledge. Farmer is the Best teacher on agriculture, he said.

Applauding the Government of Telangana for the major irrigation projects in the State, Mr Naidu stressed on the need to preserve and conserve traditional water bodies.

Telangana Agriculture Minister Niranjan Reddy mentioned that agriculture and allied sectors are the backbone of the country. Telangana has a farmer friendly government and has brought several farmer friendly schemes to support the farming community. The Rythu Bandhu Scheme is benefitting about 54 Lakh farmers. Rythu Bheema scheme for providing group life insurance to farmers is also of great support to the farmers in the state, the Minister said.

Stating that despite the doubling of per hector yield in the recent years, Mr Niranjan Reddy said several factors has contributed to the depleting farmers income.
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