HYDERABAD: In order to encourage farmers to grow cotton this Kharif season, the state government has rolled out a special scheme under which 2,615 crop colonies have been set up across the state. The role of Rythu Vedikas and agricultural extension officers is crucial in achieving the government’s objective of having the farmers cultivate cotton over 75-80 lakh acres in the State.
Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy, along with some MLAs and officials, recently conducted awareness programmes in Rangareddy, Nizamabad, Adilabad, Khammam and Mancherial districts on the benefits of growing cotton.
According to K Ramulu, Joint Director of Agriculture and Managing Director of TS Agro Industries Development Corporation Limited (TSAIDCL), an agricultural extension officer would be available at every Rythu Vedika at least once during the day. Also, crop bookings would be done online this time and farmers can directly contact the concerned officials. Ramulu told Express that Rythu Vedikas would conduct demonstrations for 50-100 farmers in every village to make farmers aware of the scientific advancements in agriculture and how it would benefit them in growing cotton.
On why such a major push was being given to cotton, he said that the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns in major cotton-producing countries like China, the Ukraine war, and the high quality of cotton produced in Telangana provide a great opportunity to the farmers of the State. “Cotton is selling at Rs 14,000 per quintal these days. If farmers get anything between Rs 8,000 to Rs 9,000, it is a safe bet. I believe that there will be a huge international demand for cotton in the next few years,” he said.
“Another major advantage of growing this high-density plant is that the entire harvesting process will be completed in the second picking. There will be no need for third or fourth picking. The process will be done between November and December. That will save a lot of time,” Ramulu added.
The agriculture department is also encouraging farmers to go for high-density plantation of cotton as it could yield more than 2-3 quintals per acre. By detopping (cutting the terminal shoots of cotton plant), more yield can be achieved, officials said. Yet another advantage for growing cotton is that the stubble shredders are already available with the TSAIDCL. The stubble can be shaped into brick-sized mass that can be used as fire material in the pharma industry.
The agriculture departments is also mulling exporting cotton seeds for higher yields from US. “In Telangana, most of the land comes under small land holdings. To implement a one-time harvest, it requires large swathes of land. The seeds are also not available locally as of now,” said a scientist at Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University.