Naidu, Sitharaman launches Rayalaseema Horticulture Centre; Anant Ambani pledges ₹1,000 crore for biogas in Andhra

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Friday (October 2, 2026) unveiled the ₹ 1-lakh-crore ‘Global Horticulture Hub – Rayalaseema Rising’ project, which promises irrigation, technology, processing and export promotion to farmers in the region. “It’s a journey from a drought-prone region known for migration and water scarcity to a potential global fruit bowl,” he said.

Mr Naidu and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman laid the foundation stones for the center and the Indian School of Agriculture (ISA), which Reliance Industries will help set up and run, at a public gathering in Madanapalle. The Chief Minister thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mrs Sitharaman for supporting the Centre. “October 2, 2026 will go down in the history of Rayalaseema. The step we are taking today will change the fate of farmers in the region,” he said.

VIDEO | Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh: CM N Chandrababu Naidu says, “October 2, 2026 will go down in history for Rayalaseema. The step we are taking today will change the fate of farmers in the region. Rayalaseema, once known for drought, will become a land of prosperity.”… pic.twitter.com/3BPJUXHJFG

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 2, 2026

Speaking in Telugu, Ms. Sitharaman said these two initiatives were a step towards transforming Rayalaseema into ‘Ratnala Seema’, the land of gems and prosperity.

Today, on the auspicious occasion of Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti and Lal Bahadur Shastri Jayanti, we are taking a decisive step towards transforming Rayalaseema into a ‘Ratnala Seema’ (Land of Gems and Prosperity) with two visionary initiatives: Developing a Global Horticulture Hub across 10… pic.twitter.com/LUH56GO6cs

— Office of Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharamanoffc) October 2, 2026

About ₹40,000 crore of the project cost would come from government support and ₹60,000 crore from private investment, Mr Naidu said. The project would cover 5,860 villages in 201 clusters in 10 districts, including the erstwhile Prakasam district, and bring an additional six million acres of horticulture. It will be implemented in three phases.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu hands over a fruit basket to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the foundation stone ceremony in Madanapalle on Friday. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

The project aims to increase horticultural production from 222 million tonnes to 435 million tonnes, directly benefiting 9.6 million farmers, according to an official release. “Now this sector contributes ₹ 1.5 crore in gross value addition. The new center will add another ₹ 1 lakh crore. Rayalaseema is set to become the fruit bowl of the world,” Mr Naidu said.

According to him, crops ranging from apples, strawberries and bananas to avocados, kiwis and dates will be supported, and food processing, agricultural technology, logistics and exports would create a seed-to-shipment ecosystem that would provide farmers with stable incomes and stable production and prices.

The key to irrigation

“Irrigation is the key to changing the fortunes of Rayalaseema. Anantapur, the second lowest rainfall region in the country, once faced desert-like conditions, migration, lack of fodder and lack of employment. I have continued irrigation and water conservation throughout my political career, introducing drip irrigation and soil conservation three decades ago. Now we are committed to soil conservation through micro-irrigation.”

In collaboration with state governments, the center has extended support across agriculture and allied sectors by deploying mobile veterinary units and veterinarians across districts to support dairy and fisheries livelihoods.

With the decisive mandate given to the NDA in 2024,… pic.twitter.com/dppXoNSjaC

— Office of Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharamanoffc) October 2, 2026

Likening irrigation projects to “modern temples”, he said 36 projects worth ₹35,000 crore, including Handri-Neeva Phase-II, Galeru-Nagari Sujala Sravanthi, Veligonda Phase-II, Madakasira Branch Canal expansion, Bhairavanithippa, Mallemadugu, Balaji Sadugu, would be completed in three and a half years.

He said that ₹3,500 crore was spent to complete the Handri-Neeva canal and divert water to Kuppam. For more than a decade, 500 TMC of water was brought from Pattiseema to the Krishna delta, enabling the salvaged Krishna water to be diverted to Rayalaseema, he said. “The government is now exploring the Godavari-to-Cauvery link to address water scarcity in the southern states,” he said.

Reflecting on his five-year political career, Mr Naidu said he had been called a “visionary”, a “CEO” and a “Hi-Tech CM” and was now described as a “Waterman”. “I will complete these projects and prove that Rayalaseema is not a drought area,” he said.

Indian College of Agriculture

The ISA, modeled after the Indian School of Business, will provide technology-driven guidance to farmers and work on digital farming, precision farming, crop monitoring, smart irrigation and market intelligence. The state signed an MoU with Reliance on August 3 for the school.

Thanking Reliance Industries for supporting the institution, Mr. Naidu said it should focus on creating leaders in agriculture and bringing research, artificial intelligence, agro-techniques and modern farming practices closer to farmers. He described Reliance CEO Anant Ambani as the “adopted son of Andhra Pradesh”, citing his animal welfare work through Vantara and the electric buses he provided for Tirumala to support the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).

It is very true that as the father of our nation said, “India lives in villages”. Chandrababu Naidu strongly believes that technology must increase farmers’ income. This is the main objective of the Indian School of Agriculture. Our mission is to ensure the prosperity of our farmers. #RayalaseemaVijayeebhava… pic.twitter.com/mfvxpjIKom

— Telugu Desam Party (@JaiTDP) October 2, 2026

Mr. Ambani said students at the school will develop tools that warn farmers of pest attacks before they spread, drones that map crop health and price intelligence “that will tell a Madanapalle farmer when and where to sell.”

Reliance would invest ₹1,00,000 crore in the compressed biogas plant in the state, creating more than three million jobs and generating revenue of nearly ₹60,000 crore to the state, he said. “Through Reliance’s green energy business, I see an opportunity to help our Annadata become Urjadata,” he said.

With inputs from PTI

Published – 02 Oct 2026 16:07 IST