Agriculture Minister Dr. Mahendra Reddy

The unavailability of agriculture officers during working hours is an issue for farmers in the Northern Division.

Farmer Mahen Patel told Agriculture Minister, Dr. Mahendra Reddy, that this is drawing them back from meeting the demands in the industry.

Patel says some of the officers are not even aware of the number of farmers in the North.

“We would like to know whether the agriculture officers are present in the office, they should know the size of the farmers of every individual farmer. These agriculture officers must know the farms, the size of the farms, and then work from there.”

Agriculture Minister Dr. Mahendra Reddy assured the farmers this will be dealt with accordingly as the ministry’s ultimate clients are farmers.

Reddy says the ministry exists because of the farmers and they should work together.

He has also urged farmers to utilize initiative provided by the ministry to meet the local and export demands for agriculture produce.