Vijayawada: Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Rural Poverty Alleviation, and Empowerment of Non-Resident Telugus Kondapalli Srinivas has urged Union Minister of State for Rural Development Dr Pemmasani Chandrasekhar to support the promotion of micro-enterprises and food processing units as a means of sustainable alternative livelihood for small and marginal farmers as well as landless agricultural labourers in the CRDA villages, including Amaravati and Tadepalli mandals of Guntur district.
Minister Srinivas, accompanied by SERP (Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty) officials, met the Union Minister in New Delhion Monday and narrated the need for the setting up of micro, medium and small scale industries in the capital region for livelihood.
Srinivas said that approximately 29,000 farmers from 22 villages voluntarily contributed around 33,000 acres of land to the CRDA under the Land Pooling Scheme for the development of the state capital. This, he noted, significantly impacted the livelihoods of small and marginal farmers and landless labourers, who are now in urgent need of sustainable alternatives.
Many of these families, he added, are members of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). Minister Srinivas said the CRDA villages have immense potential to promote micro-enterprises and food processing units, particularly through SHG women in these areas. He recommended the establishment of institutional and skill development training, along with robust forward and backward market linkages.
