Agricultural activity in the district has started with farmers getting busy with sowing operations and with monsoon rains lashing across the integrated undivided district since the last 24 hours.
Rain brought cheer to people in general and farmers in particular. Day temperatures considerably fell down giving relief from the sultry summer.
Rain lashed Kammarpally, Armoor, Balkonda, Bodhan, Bheemgal, Bodhan, Dichpally, Nizamabad city and rural last night. An average of 14 mm rainfall was recorded in the district. In Kamareddy district, 36 mm rainfall was recorded. It rained heavily in Gandari, Domakonda, Biknoor and Sadasivanagar mandals too.
Meanwhile, reports reaching here said that most of the farmers are sowing regular ID crops such as maize, despite the State government advised them not to grow it as a major crop in the kharif. They are sowing it as an inter-crop in turmeric as well separate crop.
Farmers somehow are disinterested to raise cotton, redgram and soyabean saying that the soil is not suitable to them.
They apparently do not care the government's warning that they would have to lose the farm investment under Rythu Bandhu if they do not heed the advice. Farmers of Armoor and Nizamabad divisions are planting turmeric as that is their traditional crop.
Sivakumar, a farmer in Mupkal mandal says he wants to reduce maize sowing at least by 20% this year and would like to raise soyabean. However, he adds that soyabean seed is not available and authorities failed to supply sufficient quantity of seed. As a result, he purchased the seed from private agents.
“Generally, farmers grow thin varieties of paddy in kharif -- and as regards this crop -- there is no dispute with government advisory. However, there is no guarantee for profitable price as the Central government decided to implement One Nation One Market,” argued a farmer, Sagar Reddy, of Sirikonda.
Moreover, some farmers of Navipet and Sirikonda said that they do not want to take the risk sowing soya as its seed failed in the district last year. Redgram is raised in a negligible area in the district while cotton is limited to Jukkal constituency where the CCI purchases it.
Thus, by and large, farmers have tilted towards the traditional crops rather than the crops advised by the government.
