HYDERABAD: Agriculture experts have suggested to the State government that paddy cultivation should be restricted to 60 to 65 lakh acres under both Kharif and Rabi.
Only then would farmers get remunerative prices, the experts state. Paddy area should be restricted to 40 lakh acres in Kharif and 35 lakh acres in Rabi, they said.
The experts also suggested that the government discourage cultivation of maize in Kharif season. Instead of maize, the farmers can raise cotton in around 10 to 15 lakh acres in Kharif season, the experts suggested.
Suggestions on cropping patterns
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao held a meeting with agriculture experts and officials of Agriculture University on Friday on the proposed new agriculture policy. During the meeting, the experts suggested various changes in cropping patterns. The State government purchased the entire agriculture produce of the present Rabi season during the lockdown. But the government cannot do so every year, the experts said. Hence farmers should raise crops which are in demand, they suggested. If all the farmers continue to cultivate paddy, they will suffer losses.
Cultivation of cotton is more profitable than the paddy, they opined. Revenue from one acre for paddy farmers is Rs 30,000 while it is Rs 50,000 for cotton.
Farmers could cultivate cotton on 70 lakh acres in the State, the experts suggested. Red gram should be cultivated in around 10 to 15 lakh acres. Meanwhile, the CM’s video conference with the representatives of Rythu Bandhu on Friday was cancelled as talks with the rice millers on Thursday night were inconclusive. The video conference will be conducted on May 18.