Agriculture underwent a sea change in Siddipet in a decade

According to agriculture officials, the area under cultivation increased to 9.06 lakhs in 2023- 24 from 6.31 lakh acres in 2014.

Siddipet: The agriculture sector in Siddipet underwent a tremendous transformation during the last decade after the Telangana State was formed. Since the district had benefitted the most from Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS), the farmers of the district were reaping its fruits now. As part of the KLIS, the State government had built Mallanna Sagar, Konda Pochamma Sagar and Ranganayaka Sagar in the district. The Anantha Sagar reservoir was built between Siddipet and Rajanna-Siricilla districts.

According to agriculture officials, the area under cultivation increased to 9.06 lakhs in 2023- 24 from 6.31 lakh acres in 2014. The area under irrigation went up to 7.68 lakh acres from 2.37 acres which witnessed an increase of 323 percent in nine years. Since the canals of the three reservoirs are still being laid, the area under irrigation is further expected to go up in the next couple of years. The area under paddy cultivation in a year increased from 1.39 lakh acres in 2013-14 to 7.12 lakh acres in 2022-23 which recorded an overwhelming increase of 509 percent. The paddy production had increased to a record 16.29 lakh metric tonnes which was just 2.59 lakh metric tonnes back in 2014.

---

To educate the farmers in the district on modern farm practices, the government had appointed 109 new AEOs. The district was until then having just 18 AEOs. Horticulture cultivation had also undergone a tremendous transformation during the period. Due to the availability of plentiful of water, many farmers were reaping rich benefits by cultivating various horticulture crops in the district. Since the Telangana government had given a nod for Oil Palm cultivation in Siddipet, the farmers had cultivated the oil seed crop on over 5,500 acres so far. The sericulture crop Mulberrry had increased to 1,001 acres from just 30 acres in 2014.