Crop Diversification – Elemental to Maintain Soil health & increase Farmers Income, says Agriculture Minister

In the state of Hyderabad, the Agricultural Minister S Niranjan Reddy requested all the other opposition parties to look beyond the political view and encourage farmers to divulge into diversified crop agricultural practices. He also informed the farmers about the consequences of planting the same crop over and over again. He said that planting the same crop repeatedly increases the soil salinity and also significantly reduces crop yield.

The Minister said while discussing the budget of the agriculture sector, because of the help that Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao provided, Telangana's agricultural sector is flourishing. Due to the increase in cultivation area, which has increased from 1.34 crore acres to 2.15 crore acres since, 2014, the overall crop production has also increased. The crop production of 2014 was 1.54 crore tonnes, and now the crop yield is 3.4 crores tonnes. The yielding of paddy and cotton has also increased since 2014. The paddy crop production has increased by 220% and cotton production has increased by 60%.

"In order to maintain the same growth and production of the agriculture sector, we must educate the farmer and promote crop diversification," the agriculture minister stated." He also added that the center does not think progressively, otherwise, it would have promoted the idea of crop diversification and also have encouraged food processing companies instead of declining the procure paddy from Telangana. In response to this, the Minister said that due to the scarcity of sunflower seeds last season, the state government was trying to import the sunflower seeds from next season and was also making efforts to provide them to Farmers.

He also said that those who have supplied faulty seeds to the state will be prosecuted. He also informed about the establishment of the chilli research center in the Warangal rural constituency.