Over a couple of seasons, the state of Telangana has been witnessing a record production of paddy and this has been success of the state after spending all the resources to have better irrigation facilities and water available to farmers. Thanks to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Mission Baghiratha, the state is witnessing a new green revolution. But abundance is also a burden for the state and this is the reason the CM and entire machinery is asking the farmers to stay away from the paddy cultivation for at least two seasons.
Moreover, the Union government has made it clear that it will not purchase the rabi crop this season, this has forced the state government to ask the farmers to stay away from paddy and start cultivating cash crops. With this decision is Telangana heading for a major agrarian crisis in the next few months? Both the Centre and the state government decided to procure less than half of the expected 1.40 crore tonnes of paddy output from the ongoing season, a clear indication of the distress that farmers have to go through in the days to come.
According to an official press release from the CMO, the farmers opting for paddy in the next rabi season would be “suicidal” as the Centre categorically announced its decision not to procure a single tonne of boiled rice.
Based on the official note statistics farmers are all set to face distress sale post harvesting of the ongoing kharif crop. “Of the 92 lakhs tonnes procured by the Telangana government spending more than Rs 2000 crore, 70 lakh tonnes are still lying in either rice mills or civil supplies godowns,” said the CMO note. Maintaining that the government procured paddy in the last rabi in view of the difficult times being faced by farmers in the Covid pandemic, the high-level meeting opined that for this kharif, however, the government should restrict itself to procure only 60 lakh tonnes.
Though with an intention of clearly bailing out the farmers from the impending crisis, the KCR government is asking them to stop paddy cultivation. But unfortunately, there is no means of educating the farmers, the state has failed to educate the rural people about the crisis that is staringat them. Instead, the officials especially the Collectors of Siddipet and Suryapet districts has gone a step ahead and are threatening farmers and seed dealers. Will this forceful nature work out?
It will be very difficult for the state to forcefully get the farmers to stop paddy cultivation. It is better the district office take up the job of educating and ask to voluntarily take up non-paddy cultivation. Moreover their orders, though oral, is unconstitutional!