Telangana government is all set to make farming a profitable venture in the state. Telangana’s new regulated farming plan set to increase farmers’ income.
New Regulated Farming Plan
Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao announced the policy for the regulated cultivation of the crops in the states. Further, he stated that the move would benefit farmers in producing the demanded crops. Also, it will ensure that farmers do not grow the same crop altogether in the state. The chief minister noted the problems of skyrocketing prices and excess supply of the same commodity that often are not in the farmer’s interest.
Collaboration with TRAC for Regulated Farming
A senior government official stated that paddy and wheat take around 80% of the cultivation area in Telangana. Hence, the government will guide the farmers on the cultivation of a variety of crops and their extent. Moreover, the government has planned to give a boost to vegetable cultivation based on the area. For this, the state Agriculture Department will collaborate with Telangana State Remote Sensing Application Centre (TRAC). The centre will remotely monitor cropping patterns across the state and identify them in different colours. TRAC will further enable the authorities to estimate yield using crop cutting experiment data. Not only this, but it will also suggest types of fertilizers, and their quantity be used for any crop using soil health card data by estimating the nature of the soil.
The government will link 1.6 crore acres of cultivable land belonging to more than 56 lakh farmers to TRAC. The scheme will commence from the coming monsoon crop season. Also, it will extend the benefits of the Rythu Bandhu and MSP facility only to farmers who will follow the directions of the State government.
Farmers and NGOs Oppose the Move
The CM’s decision met with strong criticism from farmers, farmers’ unions, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of the primary sector. They demanded to withdraw the policy and come up with a rational and sustainable Agricultural Policy. Further, they threatened state-wide protests for the same alleging the government for not having discussed the plan with farmer unions. Besides, they criticized the government for threatening to deny Rythu Bandhu.
In all, the state’s decision took farmers by surprise, and change will not be welcomed easily.