The Central Government will leave no stone unturned to support Andhra’s farmers – Agriculture Minister
The Sunday Mail
Guntur (Andhra Pradesh). Union Minister for Rural Development, Agriculture, and Farmers Welfare, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, today inaugurated the “Watershed Festival” in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. The event was held at the Loyola Public School Grounds, Nallapadu, on the second day of the National Watershed Conference, jointly organized by the Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development, and the Government of Andhra Pradesh. Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications, Dr. Chandrashekhar Pemmasani, senior state government officials, policymakers, research organizations, and representatives from non-governmental organizations attended the event.
Under the guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the direction of Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Central Government has launched a national initiative to encourage public participation in water conservation across the country through the “Watershed Festival.” On this occasion, the Ministry also announced “Mission Watershed Rejuvenation,” under which MNREGA funds will be used for the maintenance and repair of soil and water conservation structures constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (WDC-PMKSY 1.0).
Here, Union Minister Shri Chouhan said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the mantra of “Water is life, soil is tomorrow,” the government is promoting water and soil conservation as a national mass movement. He said that the watershed model developed in Vengayapalem village in Andhra Pradesh will be implemented across the country to improve water levels and strengthen rural livelihoods through percolation tanks, check dams, and rainwater harvesting structures.
During the event, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan praised the water conservation initiatives taken by the state government under the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Chandrababu Naidu and said that the central and state governments are committed to building a “Healthy, Wealthy, and Happy Andhra.”
He stated that the Central Government will spare no effort to provide assistance and support to the farmers of Andhra Pradesh under any circumstances. Mr. Chouhan also mentioned the Prime Minister’s “Lakhpati Didi” scheme, aimed at women’s economic empowerment, stating that 20 million women have become Lakhpati Didis under this scheme so far, and the target of 30 million will soon be reached.
Shivraj Singh also announced that under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, every poor family in Andhra Pradesh will be surveyed and provided with pucca houses. Mr. Chouhan stated that no poor person in Andhra Pradesh will now live in a kutcha house. Under the leadership of Modi and Chandrababu Naidu, every poor person’s home will be made pucca.
He stated that our goal is to make farming a profitable business for farmers. The Andhra Pradesh government, under Chandrababu Naidu’s leadership, has also launched a campaign for this. Our job is to increase the production of farmers, reduce the cost, give fair price for the produce, compensate in case of loss and do integrated farming, which means we will try to take 3 crops in a year instead of just one crop so that we can improve the life of the farmers who have small land and increase their income. Shivraj Singh said that the Andhra Pradesh government is continuously making efforts to provide water for growing crops on the currently vacant land. The central government stands with Naidu ji in this effort. Along with this, integrated farming means not just farming, but grain farming, including fruit farming, floriculture, vegetable farming, medicinal farming, as well as animal husbandry, fish farming, goat farming, beekeeping, agroforestry, and the prawns from here used to be exported all over the world. Currently, there has been a slight problem due to the USA, but do not worry, farmer brothers of Andhra. We are in talks with other countries around the world. We will not let you suffer any losses at any cost. We are also working to find other markets around the world so that our farmers can earn more profit by doing other things besides farming, increase their income, and become economically empowered.
On this occasion, Union Minister Shivraj Singh paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the Delhi incident and wished for the speedy recovery of the injured.
Under the ‘Watershed Mahotsav’, in the coming days, campaigns like “Watershed Public Participation Cup 2025”, tree plantation, shramdaan, and restoration of assets will be run across the country, in which active participation of rural communities will be ensured.
