HYDERABAD:  The State government would soon come out with a comprehensive policy on agriculture, which would ensure remunerative prices for farm produce. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao announced this at a review meeting on the agriculture sector on Tuesday at Pragathi Bhavan.

He said Telangana was emerging a ‘rice bowl’ of the country. As the total cultivable area was increasing in the State, the production too would increase. So the proposed policy would ensure that the farmers get a remunerative price for their produce, the Chief Minister said.

Rao directed the officials to construct some more godowns to store an additional 40 lakh tonnes of foodgrains in the State. He asked them to construct 2,500 Rythu Vedikas. On the occasion, he announced that Rythu Bandhu Samithi would be activated.

The Chief Minister said the required fertilisers for kharif were available and farmers should start purchasing them from May itself. This would avoid heavy rush in the last-minute, he added. He advised the farmers not to purchase spurious seeds or fertilisers.

The government would take stern action against those who resort to the sale of spurious seeds and fertilisers, he said. The Chief Minister added that the intelligence wing had already identified those who sell fake seeds and fertilisers. He also wanted the officials to focus on food processing units, so that farmers would get more money through value addition.