NPM works

What is your priority?
Greater income for the farmers at a reduced cost of cultivation. We've put all officials to work on this.

What's your take on pesticides?
We want our farmers to move away from pesticides slowly. We don't want export consignments to come back due to pesticide residues. Our pesticide consumption has come down (see graph).

What will pesticide companies do?
I suggest they get into biopesticides.

Does NPM work?
Yes. I've tried it on my fields in Anantapur on 13 acres of redgram and four acres of groundnut. The cost of cultivation came down.

Why do your department and the agriculture university avoid NPM?
They don't. They have their own version, which is IPM. But if there is such a gap, it is my duty as a political leader to bridge it. I will make all experts meet, sort things out, and work together.