Telangana: Disillusioned farmers stick to paddy sowing

Nizamabad: Despite the State government's direction to farmers not to go in for paddy, farmers in Nizamabad and Kamareddy are gearing up for sowing paddy.

Talking to The Hans India, farmers of Anksapur alleged that the government was only making statements but at ground level it had not even taken steps to supply seeds for alternate crops nor has it created awareness on what kind of crops would be suitable to be raised here. Farmers are insistent on cultivating paddy. "There is no alternative cultivation to paddy," said Sokkam Santosh, a farmer.

In Nizamabad district, paddy was cultivated in 3.87 lakh acres during kharif resulting in a yield of 7.87 lakh metric tonnes. The district has a potential to promote alternative crops such as pulses and oilseeds under 1,75,000 borewells and open wells. But what is troubling the farmers is that so far there is no assurance from the State Government on purchase of alternate crops and the rate they would fetch.

While accusing the Centre of not giving any assurance on purchase of paddy, the State Government too was also equally silent on the issue of procuring the alternative crops raised during rabi and the rate the farmers can expect for their produce.

They said district collector C Narayana Reddy and agricultural officials were telling the farmers to cultivate paddy by making buy-back deals with millers and traders and made it clear that they should not depend on the government. The government does not have a clear policy and this is resulting in utter confusion among the farmers. "Our future seems to be bleak," they rued.

The farmers feel that the TS government should have taken measures to provide help to convert land under ponds into fishponds. The cost involved per kg of fish would be Rs 30 while they can sell it at three or four times the cost of production. But they averred that no measures were being taken in that direction. The government should have come up with a concrete action plan, they add.