Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Village Agriculture Assistants’ Welfare Association (APVAAWA) State president P Ram Prasad has urged the State government to take immediate steps to reduce the mounting workload on Village Agriculture Assistants (VAAs), particularly during the ongoing Kharif season. He said VAAs were being assigned several activities, including e-Crop, fertiliser distribution, Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Information Management System (APAIMS) and special activities under the El Nino-related ‘Rythanna Meekosam’ programme. The additional responsibilities were putting considerable pressure on field-level staff and were also affecting their health, he said. Ram Prasad urged the government to review the allocation of duties and take measures to rationalise the workload on VAAs. The meeting unanimously resolved to bring the issue to the notice of the government and seek immediate intervention to ease the work pressure on VAAs.