Paying heed to the state government advisory, the farmers in the state abstained from cultivating the rice. Instead, they opted for pulses and oilseeds that saw an increase of two lakh acres.
As against the last year’s 64 lakh acres, the crops were sowed in 54 lakh acres now and comparatively pulses and oilseed cultivation increased by two lakh acres now. The extent of cultivation had come down by 17 lakh acres this time.
The rice cultivation had come down by 16.94 lakh acres this time as the centre refused to buy paddy from Telangana. The chief minister Mr K Chandrashekar Rao and other ministers advised the farmers not to get into trouble by opting for paddy once again. Instead, they should opt for commercial crops such as pulses and oilseed cultivation.
Following this, the cultivation of sunflower is increased by 0.24 lakh acres, groundnut by 0.75 lakh acres, maize by 0.52 lakh acres, and so on.
The paddy cultivation which was 52.78 lakh acres in last season had come down to 35.84 lakh acres thus a decrease of 17 lakh acres. The area of cultivation in total had come down by 14 lakh acres according to the agriculture department.
Compared to the past, the cultivation of millets also saw an increase – from 1,491 acres to 3,728 acres.
The words of chief minister Mr K Chandrasekhar Rao had become a reality. The cotton and chilli are commanding a phenomenally high price this year and farmers are elated at it.
By Gollapudi Srinivasa Rao