Cotton farmers in Telangana await crucial showers

Cotton farmers in Telangana eagerly await fresh showers to help the crop survive even as the State government expects the acreage to top 28.30 lakh hectares (lh) this year. 

Though rains have arrived in the State, the spread has not been uniform. Hoping for a bumper crop, farmers have gone for large-scale sowing in different districts. “I say only 70 per cent of the seeds sown survived. I had to go for one round of irrigation for its survival,” Raji Reddy, a cotton farmer in Warangal district, told businessline.

The State government, however, estimates that the farmers will increase the cotton acreage as it is considered to be a safe bet.

• Also read: India’s cotton area shrinks in Kharif 2024 as farmers shift to pulses, maize 

Though the State received a rainfall of 85.3 mm as against the normal rainfall of 78.5 per cent, the spread has not been uniform. At least 11 out of the 32 districts (excluding Hyderabad) reported deficit rainfall. As of June 19, cotton has been sown on 6.31 lh and paddy on 11,000 hectares.

Risk of excessive focus

“Agricultural Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao recently said farmers would grow cotton on 70 lakh acres and paddy on 20.23 lh,” Sarampally Malla Reddy, a senior leader of Telangana Rythu Sangham, has said.

He felt that excessive focus on cotton and paddy would adversely impact horticultural crops and vegetable production. “If we focus only two crops, where’s the scope for other crops. We are not self-sufficient in vegetable production. We are producing only 21 lakh tonnes of vegetables as against the demand for 38 lakh tonnes,” he said.

A senior agricultural scientist felt that the spread of rains has not been uniform. “The sowing was done only in 70 per cent of the area so far. If rains don’t show up in the next few days, they might have to go for second sowing,” he said. He, however, felt that paddy sowings can wait as most of the farmers are going for short-duration varieties (125 days) as against the long-duration (145-150 days) varieties. “They can wait till the end of July,” he said.

Seed shortage

The government’s estimation for a higher acreage is backed by the huge demand for cottonseeds of a few varieties across the State.

The Agricultural Minister said the Department had ensured the availability of 1.02 crore packets (of 450 gm each) of seed this year as against 64.34 lakh packets last year. “According to latest reports, they bought 62 lakh packets so far,” he said.

• Also read: IMD revises June rainfall forecast to ‘below normal’ from ‘normal’