Amaravati, August 2026 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday said his government views agriculture not merely as a source of livelihood but as a powerful engine of economic growth, calling for farmers to be transformed into entrepreneurs and industrialists through technology, value addition and food processing.
Naidu was speaking at an event organised by Gourmet Popcornika at Musunuru near Nuzvid, where he and Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan jointly launched what was described as India’s first non-GMO popcorn hybrid seed.
Praising Gourmet Popcornika for its contribution to the domestic popcorn industry, Naidu said the company had created a significant shift in the agricultural and food-processing ecosystem. He noted that a substantial share of the money spent on popcorn kernels in India previously flowed to countries such as Brazil and Argentina.
“Earlier, more than 70 per cent of the money spent on every popcorn kernel sold in India went to countries like Brazil and Argentina. Thanks to Gourmet’s efforts, that 70 per cent income is now reaching our own farmers,” Naidu said.
He added that the company had helped save around $125 million in foreign exchange over 11 years, describing the achievement as a matter of pride for the country.
Established in 2014, Gourmet has developed into Asia’s largest popcorn processing centre, working with around 17,500 farmers across eight states. The company cultivates popcorn across approximately 40,000 acres and supplies its products to nearly 3,400 cinema theatres across India.
Naidu also praised the business approach and farmer-centric legacy of the family of the company’s Managing Director, Pattabhirama Rao.
Focus on Value Addition
The Chief Minister stressed that agriculture can become significantly more profitable when farm produce is processed, branded and marketed in domestic and international markets.
He pointed to Andhra Pradesh’s major commercial crops and sectors, including aquaculture, banana, mango, chilli, turmeric and palm oil. According to Naidu, farmers can achieve substantially higher returns when these products undergo processing and value addition before reaching global markets.
He highlighted Gourmet’s farm-to-consumer traceability system as a model that could be replicated across other agricultural sectors in the state.
Naidu also identified food processing as a major opportunity in the aquaculture sector. He noted that only around 10 per cent of aqua products exported from Andhra Pradesh are currently processed, and said increasing the figure to 60-70 per cent could generate substantial employment and boost foreign exchange earnings.
Irrigation and River Linking
The Chief Minister said water security remains a top priority for the state government. Referring to the 52 per cent rainfall deficit this year attributed to El Niño conditions, he said the earlier Patiseema project had helped transfer Godavari water to the Krishna delta, providing relief to farmers.
He assured that legal obstacles concerning the Chintalapudi Lift Irrigation Project would be resolved and that work would be completed soon. The project is expected to significantly benefit the Nuzvid region.
Naidu also announced that the first phase of the long-pending Veligonda project would be dedicated to the nation on August 31. He said the Polavaram Left Canal was already supplying water to the Uttarandhra Sujala Sravanthi project.
Advocating wider river interlinking, Naidu said connecting the Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra, Penna and Cauvery rivers could help address the long-term water requirements of southern states. He also suggested extending the concept to the Ganga-Brahmaputra river system to strengthen India’s future water security.
Youth Urged to Become Job Creators
Naidu called upon young people to move beyond the traditional search for government or private-sector jobs and instead become entrepreneurs capable of creating employment for others.
He encouraged youth to combine technology with agriculture, food processing and innovative business models. Describing Gourmet’s approach as an example of out-of-the-box thinking, he assured that the state government would extend support to innovative startups and entrepreneurs.
Governor S. Abdul Nazeer and Ministers Nara Lokesh, Achchennaidu, Kollu Ravindra and Parthasarathy, among others, attended the programme.
