State targets cultivation in 43 lakh ha
Sources in Agriculture Department said: “Last year, around the same period the sowing activity had been completed only in about 12.50 lakh acres. The progress made during the beginning of the current kharif was the best in the last three years.”
Hyderabad: Onset of south-west monsoon (SWM) during the current kharif season seems to have come as a great relief to the farmers in the State, as the sowing activity has been completed in about 24.71 lakh acres by June 5.
Sources in Agriculture Department said: “Last year, around the same period the sowing activity had been completed only in about 12.50 lakh acres. The progress made during the beginning of the current kharif was the best in the last three years.”
Hoping for a good rainfall during the current SWM, the government had set a target of cultivation in 43 lakh hectares in the kharif as against 38 lakh hectares of last year.
Due to good rains in the beginning of the season, farmers in the dry land areas went ahead in sowing groundnut and pulses. This includes the Rayalaseema districts of Anantapur, Kurnool, Kadapa and Chittoor.
According to State Agriculture commissioner, K Dhanunjay Reddy, “The government has adopted a more focused approach on the increasing the cultivable area of pulses. The decision was taken against the backdrop of the shortage of lentils production that could not meet the demand.”
The State has recorded a growth rate of 30 per cent in pulses production during the last year. Due to the special focus and demand for the pulses, farmers were coming forward to take up the cultivation of lentils, in this kharif season. “In last three years, the sowing area of pulses was 74,000 acres. This time it has reached 3.26 lakh acres,” the commissioner said and added that better rains are expected during the next two month.
Deviating from the normal practice, farmers were encouraged to sow pulses ahead of the kharif season. This was taken up in about 1.23 lakh acres under the Krishna Delta Area (KDA) and Nagarjuna Sagar.
The initiative was attempted following good rains experienced during May, June and apart from the fact that the region could not be provided with water till the month of August, owing to irrigation demands elsewhere.
However, the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme has come handy to the Krishna delta following the release of Godavari river water, which is expected to reach by July 15.
Further, the crop period stands at 90 days and the yield is ready for harvest by August. This would also save the standing crops from the threats of nature like cyclones.
