'Andhra top state in maize productivity'

Andhra Pradesh is the number one state in Maize productivity and the government plans to increase the cultivation of the crop significantly, a state department has said.
"The average productivity of Maize crop in Andhra Pradesh is 6,523 kg per hectare, which is 4,025 kg higher than the national average of 2,498 kg per hectare," the state Information and Public Relations department said in a release.
Guntur district tops the state with maize productivity of 10,643 kg per hectare, it said.
The state government has decided to increase the area under cultivation from 2.31 lakh hectares in 2015-16 to 3.03 lakh hectares in 2016-17, it said.

It also targets to increase maize production from 15.10 lakh tonnes in 2015-16 to 22.28 lakh tonnes in 2016-17, it said.
The state's Agriculture department has prepared an action plan to achieve the target, it said.