Hyderabad: Telangana’s appeal to farmers to move away from paddy this rabi season comes against the backdrop of a decade-long expansion that has made the state account for more than half of India’s rabi paddy acreage.
Backed by irrigation projects, assured procurement and farmer preference, paddy has become the dominant winter crop, making any shift in cultivation patterns difficult as water availability comes under scrutiny, said a report in the Times of India on Saturday, October 17.
According to the Union agriculture ministry data, the state recorded 52.02 lakh acres under rabi paddy in 2023-24, which is 51.38 per cent of the total acreage reported across major winter rice-growing states. Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh follow with 29.13 lakh acres and 14.16 lakh acres, respectively. Kerala accounted for 1.78 lakh acres, and another 4.15 lakh acres were reported by other states, said the report.
In the past decade, the state has shown over a fourfold increase in the area under the crop: From 12.23 lakh acres in 2014-15 to 52.16 lakh acres in 2023-24. Contributing to this are better irrigation facilities, farmers’ own preference for the crop, and an assurance of government procurement.
Paddy had been sown on 57.32 lakh acres in Telangana as of March 4 this year, compared with 55.36 lakh acres during the corresponding period a year earlier, said Professor Jayashankar of Telangana
Agricultural University. This is a 3.5 per cent growth.
The government’s call to curb paddy cultivation this rabi season comes against the backdrop of concerns over water availability and the possible El Niño effect on rainfall.
However, experts say that shifting to alternative crops would require sustained policy support and reliable markets. “Pulses, oilseeds and other less water-intensive crops could offer alternatives in suitable
areas,” Rythu Commission member S Anvesh Reddy said.
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Source: The Siasat Daily
