The Hindu Business Line : IFPRI to work with AP Govt.

THE Washington-based, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) will work with the country's two leading agriculture States — Punjab and Andhra Pradesh, in efforts to understand the policy initiatives, implications and further help formulate a strategy that leads to overall growth in agriculture production.

While the focus in Andhra Pradesh would be on reforms in power and irrigation sectors, infrastructure for improving agriculture productivity and exports, it would be the question of why farmers are not opting for diversification to non-cereal — wheat and rice crops in Punjab, according to Dr Suresh Babu, senior training advisor at IFPRI.

In Andhra Pradesh, the IFPRI will partner with the Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU). Gradually, other research institutes and stake holders would be involved at various stages of the exercise, which is expected to be of 3-5 years duration, he told newspersons here on Wednesday.

The IFPRI, in collaboration with the ANGRAU and the State Government also organised a two-day workshop to draw out a plan of action for the State, which in turn, was expected to become the platform for policy decision-making, Dr Suresh Babu said.

The IFPRI has come to Andhra Pradesh on the invitation of the Chief Minister, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, who wanted to review the policy framework and suggest ways of achieving quick progress in the agriculture sector, he said.

Andhra Pradesh has taken bold initiatives, especially in the power sector and irrigation, which can be a model for many other States in the country. However, Dr Suresh Babu hastened to add that that the exercise would put through the reforms and the facts provided by the State through rigorous scrutiny and filter the `hype' if any before coming up with an appropriate strategy.

He said four broad areas of priority for the Andhra Pradesh study could be agriculture crop diversification as well as processing; infrastructure building in agri-export; reforms and role of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the private sector in grain trade.

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