MSP, Bonus Fuelled Paddy Driving Farming, Diversification Needed: Panel
Commission urges crop diversification, MSP support for alternative crops and a district-specific farming strategy to reduce dependence on paddy.
In what could be part of the first concerted effort in Telangana to wean the state away from the overwhelming paddy cultivation, the Telangana Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Commission has said that for agriculture to be sustainable in the state, farmers must diversify the crops they grow. The commission has also said that this will require government support to incentivise the shift away from paddy, which could also help conserve water resources.
The commission’s report on crop diversification to the government also pointed out the overwhelming farmer preference towards paddy – its acreage for Kharif and Rabi seasons rose from 49,28,000 acres in 2013-14 to 1,27,03,000 acres in 2024-25 – has much to do with the promise of a minimum support price (MSP) for paddy, a long-standing practice, to which was added a promised bonus per quintal by the state government.
“Though paddy and cotton have emerged as the two main crops in the state, depending on them in the long term is not sustainable, either economically or environmentally,” the Commission has said in its report submitted to the state government recently.
The commission’s report coincided with the dire predictions by the India Meteorological Department that this year’s monsoon season will be below normal. Though there could be some rain in June, the rest of the rainy season till August is expected to remain largely dry with occasional spells of rain.
Declaring that “agriculture lost its way” in Telangana after its formation in 2014, the commission said a shift from paddy could also result in conserving water, while farmers can benefit from remunerative prices for alternate crops, but this will require minimum support prices for those crops farmers are being asked to raise. Since agriculture is a state subject, it is up to the state government to announce MSP for alternate crops such as millets, pulses, oil seeds based on recommendations of a state-level price fixation committee in which farmers must be represented, the commission has said.
Once the MSPs are fixed, it will be up to the government to ensure procurement support as well as adherence to the prices announced for each crop. Concrete steps should be taken to encourage farmers who want to raise paddy in one season to shift to an alternate crop in the next, the commission said in its report.
Changing cropping pattern
How state ploughed into trouble
MSP induced growth in paddy, cotton
Fall in horticulture
Monocropping hits soil fertility
Excessive water consumption for paddy
No MSP for alternate crops, no purchase support
Pulses, and vegetable crops seed shortages
What needs to be done
Diversify crops, save water, and soil
Acreage under fruits, horticulture, and flowers must rise
Encourage pulses, oil seeds, and millets
Take steps to increase the quality of turmeric
Eliminate the widely prevalent middleman problem
One district-One product plan
The state must introduce a one-district one-product policy, based on climatic, water and soil conditions and encourage farmers to focus on growing the best-suited crop for the district.
For instance, in Nizamabad, turmeric is the primary crop, in Khammam and Warangal, farmers grow chillies, mango is raised in Jagitial, Nagarkurnool, and vegetables in Ranga Reddy, Vikarabad, and Siddipet.
Such districts should get crop-specific incentives, and the government must encourage cold storage and processing facilities specific to crops raised in each district, the Telangana Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Commission has said.