It remains to be seen as to how farmers would react if the government decides to implement its new cropping policy forcefully as it lays emphasis on undertaking Irrigated Dry crops in larger acreage in the place of paddy even when there is adequate quantity of water in Sriramsagar and also in small and medium reservoirs and tanks.
Under its compulsive cropping policy, the government is suggesting to grow soya bean, cotton and red gram in monsoon in the district which is basically known as a rice bowl and commercial crops such as turmeric and maize. Authorities already started the campaign asking farmers not to raise maize and if they want to plant it only as an inter crop to turmeric. Farmers are also afraid of raising sanna rakam variety of paddy which is a long duration crop and highly prone to pests. Moreover, the variety has no MSP and the government would not procure it whereas the doddu rakam has MSP and is procured by the government. Earlier, the government encouraged doddu rakam as it used to be supplied to the poor through Public Distribution System.
“Farmers would have no objection to transplant sanna rakam if the government assures to procure it giving bonus. In the total paddy production doddu variety constitutes 90 per cent and farmers are very much used to it,” said a farmer Vidyasagar Reddy.
Meanwhile, as there is adequate quantity of water in Sriramsagar Project farmers as usual every year are tilting towards undertaking cultivation of paddy in the current kharif under its ayacut and they are likely to insist on the early release of water for raising seedlings and transplantation irrespective of the government’s latest policy on crop pattern.
Given the water position in SRSP, the government may not oppose the demand unlike in 2018 when it deployed hundreds of policemen in Balkonda and Armoor to disperse the farmers agitating for water release for raising seedlings and transplantation.
As on today the reservoir contains 29.722 tmcft as against 6.042 tmcft this day last year. Paddy of both varieties is raised in over 3.5 lakh acres in the district and this year it would be cultivated even in more acres. Sannam rakalu is planted in 1 lakh acres and the ‘doddu’ is in the rest.