Andhra Pradesh has topped the list of states under agriculture and allied sectors on the Good Governance Index (GGI) released by the Administration Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Government of India, on Saturday in New Delhi.
GGI is a comprehensive and implementable framework to assess the State of Governance in all the States and Union Territories which enables ranking of States/Districts and presents a comparative picture.
Eight indicators have been identified in GGI, under the agriculture, and allied sectors, with a focus on output and institutional support like crop insurance. The salient features of Group A states, in Agriculture and allied sectors, are increasing trends observed in food grain, horticulture, meat, and milk production and crop insurance.
Special Chief Secretary of Agriculture, AP, Poonam Malakondaiah, in a statement, said, “I’m very happy that our state has topped in the GGI index under Agriculture and allied sectors, we can proudly say that we talk in the state on the ease of doing agriculture for the farmers.”
The GGI is a bi-annual exercise; the growth of which is being evaluated against the results of 2019.
In Andhra Pradesh, the growth rate in agriculture and allied sectors touched double-digits at 11.3 from 6.3 in 2019. While the growth in the horticulture produce is 12.3 percent from a mere 4.7 percent, milk production set a new record at 11.7, which can be attributed to the state’s MOU with the Amul conglomerate.
This was around 1.4 percent in 2019. In meat production as it touched 10.3 percent from minus 6.7 percent. Andhra Pradesh scored 26.1 percent in crop insurance implementation.
The Agriculture and allied sector continues to be the backbone and is the pillar of the Indian economy; the state government is working towards ensuring doubling farmers’ income and reducing agrarian distress.
Initiatives that are being taken by the state government to improve the effectiveness of the sector, including, Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBK), e-cropping, crop insurance, etc.
Rythu Bharosa Kendras
The Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs) received recognition from NITI Aayog and the agriculture ministry. RBKs are being developed as a one-stop solution to all the grievances of the farmers’ right from the sale of seeds, pesticides, fertilizers to the procurement of agricultural produce.
In the agriculture and allied sector, eight indicators have been identified in GGI with a focus on output and institutional support like crop insurance. Accessibility of multiple selling/buying options for crop production to the farmers can be achieved by linking the mandis to e-Markets.
The enhanced flow of information will increase the bargaining power of farmers and reduce their vulnerability. Thus, an additional indicator ‘Agriculture Mandis Enrolled in e-Market’ is included in GGI 2020-21.