Over 30 per cent increase in cotton cultivation in State

Guntur: Cotton cultivating area increased in the State during this year by 98,703 hectares due to increase in cotton price in the last season and reduction in price of chillies.So far farmers cultivated cotton in the State in 4,04, 816 hectares as against 3,06,113 hectares during the same period last year.

Highlights:

• The area of cultivation has gone up from 3,06,113 hectares last year to 4,04,816 hectares this year
• As chilli farmers suffered losses last year, some of them have opted for cotton crop this year
• Kurnool stands first in cotton cultivation with the crop being cultivated in 1,74,395 hectares this year as against 1,16,690 hectares last year

While, the farmers in Kurnool district cultivated cotton in 1,74,395 hectares so far and stood first in the State as against 1,16,690 hectares during the same period last year. In Guntur district, cotton sowing operations have been completed in 1,22,480 hectares so far, as against 97,937 hectares during the corresponding period last year.

Cotton sowing area increased this year due to increase in demand during the last season. Cotton was sold at Rs 6,000 per quintal last year.Meanwhile, the chilli farmers who suffered heavy losses due to reduction in price last year, shifted to cotton. As a result, the cotton sowing increased by about one lakh hectares in the State.

Meanwhile, the State government has distributed seeds to the cotton farmers who shifted to other crops at 90% subsidy to reduce cotton production.

In Srikakulam, farmers cultivated cotton in 4,972 hectares as against 3,617 hectares last year. In Vizianagaram district, cotton sowing operations have been completed in 11,398 hectares as against 10,537 hectares during the same period last year.

In East Godavari district, farmers cultivated cotton in 11,466 hectares so far, as against 9,761 hectares during the same period last year.

In West Godavari district, cotton farmers completed sowing in 2,877 hectares, as against 2,862 hectares during the corresponding period last year.The farmers in Krishna district so far cultivated cotton in 43,227 hectares as against 36,387 hectares during the same period last year.

Similarly in Prakasam district, the cotton farmers so far completed sowing in 9,703 hectares as against the 4,621 hectares during the last year, whereas in P S Nellore district, farmers cultivated cotton in 3,589 hectares as against 2,055 hectares during the same period last year.

In Chittoor district, the farmers raised cotton in 143 hectares as against 53 hectares during the last year. Similarly, in YSR Kadapa district, the farmers cultivated cotton in 10,774 hectares as against 5,777 hectares during the last year.

However in Anantapur and Visakhapatnam, the area of cotton cultivation has gone down when compared to last year.
In Anantapur, the farmers cultivated cotton in 9,146 hectares as against 14,417 hectares last year. Similarly, in Visakhapatnam, cotton was sown in 646 hectares as against 1,399 hectares last year.

Commissioner of Agriculture Dr M Hari Jawaharlal said," Farmers have sown cotton in 4,04,816 hectares in the state so far as against 3,06,113 hectares last year. Comparing to last season, this year cotton sowing area increased in the state due to increase of cotton price during the last season,”.

In order to prevent farmers from going for excess cultivation of cotton, the government has decided to provide seeds of other crops at 90 per cent subsidy. “We have motivated the farmers who cultivated chillies not to shift to cotton to reduce the cotton yield. We have distributed seeds on subsidy to the cotton farmers who shifted to other crops," Hari Jawaharlal said.

By V L Syam Sundar