Guntur: Streamlining the distribution of urea for the upcoming rabi season will be the top priority for the agriculture department, said newly-appointed director of agriculture, Dr Manazir Jeelani Samoon, after taking charge at the directorate of agriculture office in Mangalagiri on Tuesday.

Soon after taking charge, Dr Samoon held a comprehensive review meeting with additional directors, joint directors, and section heads to assess crop conditions, input availability — especially urea — and the status of ongoing Central and state agricultural schemes. He directed officials to prepare an action plan to ensure smooth and transparent urea distribution, preventing the bottlenecks experienced during the previous season.

Dr Samoon reviewed the software system for urea distribution and instructed that real-time monitoring of fertilizer stocks through the IFMS system be strictly implemented. He emphasised that Rythu Seva Kendras (RSKs) would play a key role in fertilizer supply, directing officials to verify login access, biometric devices, and operational readiness well before the Rabi season.

The meeting also discussed the Digital Agriculture Platform and the implementation of applications like D-Krishi, e-Panta, AGILE, AP-AIMS 2.0, and APPS.

Dr Samoon stressed the need to adopt precision farming and drone-based spraying of nano-fertilizers and pesticides in selected pilot areas.

He underscored the importance of accurate crop area and yield data, directing that crop-cutting experiments under the Crop Insurance Scheme be conducted as per schedule. He also called for proactive measures to strengthen Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and ensure that farmers face no inconvenience during procurement operations.

Officers from various wings of the department congratulated Dr. Samoon on assuming charge.