Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday suggested that post-bifurcation Andhra Pradesh has achieved 97 per cent growth in agriculture income: from 1.28 lakh crore in 2013-14 to 2.53 lakh crore in 2017-18.

Speaking to media persons at his camp office here, the Chief Minister said that though the BJP government at the Centre had promised to double farmers’ income, it was AP which had gone ahead and done it.

This remarkable growth in agriculture sector was possible as the government had effectively addressed the problem of irrigation. "We have linked rivers, taken steps to ensure rise in groundwater table, encouraged micro irrigation systems, and asked farmers to shift to horticulture.

This strategy has paid off," Nadu said.Chandrababu Naidu said that he was happy to note that horticulture in AP was more compared to that in larger states like UP, Bihar and Maharashtra. "We have revived agriculture and improved sustainability.

"When the State was divided in 2014, we had twin problems on our hands: one was drought in Rayalaseema area and the other was cyclones in coastal areas; but we faced the challenges and have overcome them."

Naidu said that he was sure that other sectors too would begin looking up with the success the state has achieved in agriculture. "We have taken up 62 irrigation projects. Apart from it, Polavaram is the most important project that we have taken up.  

We have encouraged micro irrigation in one crore acres," he said. Referring to growth rate of the state, Naidu said that in the second quarter of the current financial year, it was 11.15 per cent, against national average of 6.9 per cent.

The industrial sector showed a growth of 9.68 per cent as against national average of 6.8 per cent, while the service sector registered 9.17 per cent as against the national average of 7.5 per cent.  The agriculture sector posted a growth rate of 17.18 per cent as against national average of 3.8 per cent.

As regards per capita income, it was Rs 93,903 in 2014-15, but grew to Rs.1.42 lakh in 2017-18. In other words, the growth in per capita income in 2014-15 was 13.31 percent, while it went up to 14.87 per cent in 2017-18.