The Hindu Business Line : AP mulls irrigation strategy; to study Chinese model

THE State Government plans to work on a three-point agenda that would consolidate on the irrigation sector. It will also focus on agriculture, especially the post -harvest and food processing issues, and the diversification of rural livelihood.

The State Government plans to commission a study by the Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University to look at how China has brought about higher agriculture production per hectare and assess if there are some aspects that can be replicated.

Addressing a press conference at the State Secretariat on Saturday, the State Chief Minister, Dr Y. S. Rajashekhara Reddy, said that the recent tour to China has reinforced his decision on laying thrust on the agriculture sector with a focus on irrigation.

"We have thus far committed Rs 22,000 crore for the irrigation sector and are on course to make the promised investment of Rs 45,000 crore over the five-year time-frame."

On the Rs 90,000-crore Three Gorges multi-purpose project of the Chinese Government, Dr Reddy said, "Andhra Pradesh would also have to focus on the irrigation sector. The Three Gorges project, apart from irrigation and checking the flow of the river systems, also envisages hydel power generation of 18,200 megawatts (mw) with 700 mw turbines. The Three Gorges project had displaced 13 lakh people, who have since been rehabilitated."

When asked if it was easier to take up projects in a Communist regime, Dr Reddy said both have their pluses and minuses, "but I believe that a democratic process is better, even though we may face some hurdles in implementation of projects."

While praising the Chinese Government for its effort to develop infrastructure through a sustained reform process, Dr Reddy sounded a note of caution on the rural-urban divide. "While there is prosperity in the urban areas, the rural per capita income is just about one-fourth of the urban inhabitants. They need to address this issue."

On productivity in the agriculture sector, Dr Reddy said, "We have tried to analyse the impact of higher productivity on the Government. But we need to do a micro-level study as to how they have managed to achieve this. A team from the agriculture university would dwell deeper and advise on how we can emulate them."

"The overall land-holding pattern in China is different and per capita holding is lower. Yet their average yields are about two times that of India for paddy, wheat, maize and groundnut. We need to work towards scaling up yields," Dr Reddy said.

The Chinese model of urban infrastructure management is something that could be considered for urban transport, waste management and city upkeep. Their management of cloud seeding , both for agriculture applications and in urban areas, to reduce heat during summer needs to be further studied, Dr Reddy said.

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