Vijayawada: Governor S. Abdul Nazeer said India has achieved a record production of food grains, mainly wheat, rice and maize, to the tune of 353.95 million tonnes in 2024, showing an increase of 6.5 per cent when compared with the previous year. He attributed credit to the government policies and schemes.Addressing the gathering while presiding over the 57th annual convocation of Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University at Atkur in Krishna district on Thursday, the Governor pointed out that the demand for food was expected to rise up to nearly 400 million tonnes by 2050 and underscored the need to produce more food grains to meet the demand in the days to come. The Governor said India’s agricultural sector contributed to nearly 16 per cent to the nation’s GDP in 2024, providing livelihood support to about 46.1 per cent of the country’s population. He laid stress on keeping agricultural growth rate at 4 per cent per annum to meet the demand for food, feed and fodder besides ensuring a growth rate of 8 per cent to 9 per cent of GDP, which in turn would help reduce poverty and facilitate economic growth in the country. Referring to Andhra Pradesh, the Governor said that the state is the leading performer with a compound annual growth rate of 8.8 per cent in agriculture and allied sectors in 2024-25 and laid stress on production of more food for nutritional security and food safety. The Governor presented degrees and gold medals to the meritorious students. University vice-chancellor Dr R. Sarada Jayalakshmi Devi presented the annual reports of the varsity.
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