The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samriddhi Kendras (PMKSK) will soon become one-stop shops for meeting all the requirements of farmers across the country.
“Apart from the sale of seeds, pesticides and fertilizers, these centres will also handle soil testing, create awareness on nutrient supply, weather forecast at the local level. The centres will also provide information to farmers on crop procurement prices and fluctuation indicators,” said P. Bhaskar Reddy, senior associate vice-president of Coromandel International Limited.
He was explaining the features of the PMKSK to a media team which visited the PMKSK at Kodumur in Kurnool district on Friday. He said that the centres would also rope in the services of scientists from agricultural centres and Krishi Vignan Kendras (KVK) to provide counselling on pest and disease management.
The company is coming up with 12000 KSKs across India, out of which 4500 will be located in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Mr. Bhaskar Reddy added.
The Union Ministry of Fertilizers has proposed to convert the existing network of dealer outlets and cooperative societies into PMKSKs to offer a wide range of services to farmers.