Crops on 1.54 Crore Acres Planned for Coming Kharif Season

The Agriculture Department has estimated around 1.4 crore acres of land will be used for agriculture during the upcoming Kharif season in 2023-24, while an additional 14 lakh acres will be allocated for horticultural crops, mainly consisting of vegetables.

During a review of the upcoming agricultural season, Agriculture Minister S. Niranjan Reddy urged authorities to promote large-scale cotton and red gram cultivation. He also instructed them to procure 18 lakh quintals of various seed varieties necessary for the Kharif season. He also emphasized the need of improving soil fertility by providing green manure seed, stating that the government had set aside Rs. 76.66 crore for this reason.

The Minister directed field officers to encourage the use of nano urea and nano DAP, which would result in lower fertilizer costs and lesser waste. Furthermore, the Minister urged officials to educate farmers on how to use phosphate-soluble bacteria to improve soil health. Moreover, the Minister urged officials to spread the word about the potential benefits of using drones in agriculture, particularly for spraying fertilizer and pesticides. The Minister proposed teaching young people to operate these drones, thereby providing job prospects.

The Minister instructed the officials to facilitate the provision of crop loans from the District Cooperative Central Banks (DCCBs) for inter-crop cultivation in oil palm plantations, with a limit of Rs. 40,000 per acre. He also asked them to spread farming-related technical knowledge on a larger scale using social media platforms.

The Minister urged farmers set aside a portion of their land during the Kharif season to cultivate paddy nurseries in preparation for the forthcoming Rabi season. This proactive technique will allow for the early transplantation of Rabi paddy and the completion of the harvest by March, preventing crop damage from unexpected rains and hailstorms.

The Minister stated that farming short-duration paddy varieties could benefit farmers by allowing them to avoid the unpredictable rains that have occurred in recent years during the latter half of March. Furthermore, switching from the traditional transplantation system to seed broadcasting for paddy cultivation could save up to 10-15 days.

The Minister stated that the Rabi season's progress in the Banswada, Bodhan, Huzurnagar, and Miryalguda regions was beneficial to farmers because it reduced their vulnerability to unexpected rainfall, allowing them to sell their Rabi season paddy first. The Minister also instructed the authorities to take strict measures against bogus seed wholesalers and vendors.

Chairman of the Rythu Bandhu Samithi, P. Rajeshwar Reddy, Secretary of Agriculture M. Raghunandan Rao, and several Chairpersons of Corporations within the Agriculture Department, including K. Koteshwar Rao, M. Ganga Reddy, K. Ravinder Rao, T. Vijayasimha Reddy, M. Srinivas Rao, Saichand, Raja Varaprasad Rao, and K. Ramakrishna Reddy, along with Director of Horticulture M. Hanumantha Rao, Special Commissioner of Agriculture Hanmanth K. Zendge, and representatives from various universities and corporations, were in attendance at the meeting.

-The Hindu 

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