Cultivation area dips by nearly half in erstwhile Nalgonda

The cultivation of paddy had dipped sharply due to adverse weather conditions and lack of irrigation facility, officials said.

Nalgonda: The cultivation area in erstwhile Nalgonda district has come down to 6.03 lakh acres for the Yasangi crop, which is almost 50 percent less than the last crop season.

Out of the total normal cultivation area of 10,16,637 acres, the farmers took up cultivation in 6,03,730 acres in the erstwhile district, which was 59.3 percent, due to the crop holiday declared for the ayacut of the left canal of Nagarjuna Sagar Project. There were 3.7 lakh acres of ayacut under the NSP left canal in Nalgonda and Suryapet districts.

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According to a recent report of the Agriculture department, cultivation was taken up by farmers in 2,80,783 acres in Nalgonda district as against the normal cultivation area of 4,27,964 acres, while the crop area dipped to 2,02,757 acres in Suryapet district as against the normal cultivation area of 3,91,715 acres. Similarly, cultivation was taken up by farmers in 1,20,180 acres in Yadadri-Bhongir district.

The cultivation of paddy had dipped sharply due to adverse weather conditions and lack of irrigation facility, officials said, adding that farmers of the district were not showing interest in taking up paddy cultivation also due to a decline in groundwater levels. In addition to this, the area of groundnut cultivation had also come down, with farmers switching to alternative crops that required less water for cultivation.

The decline in the area of paddy cultivation was likely to have an impact on prices of rice in the next six months, they said.

The erstwhile Nalgonda district had stood on top in the State in paddy production in the last Yasangi crop season.