RICE? NO DICE!

Telangana farmers in a lurch as Centre and state refuse to buy paddy sown this rabi season

- RAHUL DEVULAPALLI 

DURING THE RECENT kharif season, K. Raji Reddy’s day would start early. The farmer from Gorrekunta village in Warangal district, northern Telangana, would reach his field by 5am. He would tend to his cattle, have a look around and head home for a quick breakfast. A little later, he would return to the field, walk around, rest under a shady tree, feed the cattle and return home by evening. Throughout the season, not once did he use pesticide or rely on electricity to water the fields. The two-acre paddy crop almost took care of itself, he said, and gave him good yield.

“Life is easy when cultivating paddy,” said the 40 year old, who used to grow cotton and chillies for most of his life. “While cultivating chilly, I had to work on the farm all day.”

As Telangana was water-deficient for decades, paddy cultivation was sparse in the state. Coastal Andhra met Telangana’s rice needs. However, in the past few years, there has been a drastic shift. Currently, Telangana has 55 lakh farmers. And, according to rough estimates, almost 80 per cent of them now grow paddy. About five years ago, this figure would have been under 30 per cent. In 2015, paddy was grown on 53 lakh acres; now it is 1.05 crore acres. The total paddy production for this year’s rabi and kharif seasons was 2.5 crore tonnes, the highest in the state’s history.