Cotton being a commercial crop, it can be cultivated
even under low rainfall conditions. Farmers in the district continue to
grow it despite problems such as labour, low remuneration and growing
input costs.
They cultivate cotton in an extent of
six lakh acres annually but due to unfavourable conditions, it was grown
only in five lakh acres last season.
However,
agricultural scientists believe that next season it will be cultivated
in six lakh acres or more as there is forecast of low rainfall. “Many
opted for maize last season but again, farmers will opt for cotton in
view of the deficient rainfall this time,” said District Agriculture
Technology & Transfer (DATT) centre director R. Uma Reddy.
Farmers
have been demanding a good remunerative price, which was fixed at Rs.
4,050, but majority were paid between Rs. 3,800 and Rs. 3,900 per
quintal. Farmers were also facing the problem of inadequate labour in
villages owing to the MNREGS programme. Not many were willing to work
with farmers as they get more wages under the programme.
“The
only solution is to introduce farm mechanization in a big way. Sowing
and harvesting can be done by machines,” Mr. Uma Reddy said.
Agricultural
scientists have been asking the government to set up a Cotton Research
Centre to develop local varieties that would be beneficial to farmers.
There was only one centre in the erstwhile State but there is no
research centre in Telangana.
Mr. Uma Reddy said they
had been advising farmers to sow only the non-BT variety of cotton and
cultivate the crop in black soil only. Otherwise, there would be a
problem of low yield and pests.
Source : The Hindu
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