KCR asks farmers to cultivate paddy in 50 L acres, other crops in 15 lakh acres

By Newsmeter Network  Published on  15 Oct 2020 3:47 PM GMT
KCR asks farmers to cultivate paddy in 50 L acres, other crops in 15 lakh acres

Highlights

  • State has decided to cultivate paddy in 50 lakh acres, Bengal gram in 4.5 lakh acres
  • The CM said seeds and fertilisers required for these crops were kept ready.
  • KCR said since corn is not getting any good price farmers should decide on whether to cultivate it

Hyderabad : Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, on 15 October, advised farmers in the state to cultivate paddy in 50 lakh acres and other crops in 15 lakh acres for the 2020-2021 summer season.

KCR held a review meeting at Pragathi Bhavan here on Thursday on regulatory farming policy. He wants agriculture officers to suggest to farmers what crops they should cultivate, district-wise, mandal-wise, and cluster-wise. The CM said the farmers have followed the regulatory farming methods during the rainy season and cultivated the crops as suggested by the government. He urged the farmers to do the same during the summer too.

During the recent agriculture officers’ meeting, KCR had asked for reports on regulatory farming cultivation district-wise. Based on the CM’s instructions, officials from the agriculture department have prepared an estimate on crops to be cultivated during the summer season district-wise. A detailed discussion took place during Thursday’s meeting regarding which crops are to be cultivated and on how much land.

It was decided to cultivate paddy in 50 lakh acres, Bengal gram in 4.5 lakh acres, groundnut in four lakh acres, chilli and other vegetables in 1.5-2 lakh acres, maize in one lakh acres, sesame in one lakh acres, green gram in 50 to 60,000 acres, black gram in 50,000 acres, sunflower in 30 to 40,000 acres, mustard seed, safflower, millets, and other such crops in 60 to 70,000 acres. The CM said seeds and fertilisers required for these crops were kept ready.

KCR urged the farmers to cultivate the crops as suggested by the agriculture officials and thereby get a good price for their produce. The regulatory farming policy should be an ongoing process, he said. “Any new policy or system will not become a habit in one day or at one attempt. It is due to regular process that the new method will become a regular practice. The farmers should be told repeatedly that they will benefit through the new system,” the CM said.

Officials against maize cultivation

Officials at the meeting felt that cultivating maize is not advisable due to the price and marketing uncertainty. The officials said it would be better if the government advises farmers against cultivating maize. They estimated that corn would not fetch above Rs. 900 per quintal. However, KCR said since corn is not getting any good price farmers should decide on whether to cultivate it. If farmers decide to cultivate corn, it was at their risk, the CM added.

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