Telangana flags chemical-heavy farming as vegetable acreage shrinks
Telangana's Agriculture Minister has raised concerns over heavy pesticide and fertiliser use, saying the State's vegetables are being rejected by other States as cultivation area falls sharply.
Telangana Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao has flagged the heavy use of pesticides, chemical fertilisers and urea in vegetable cultivation across the State, telling the Legislative Assembly that produce grown here is no longer being accepted by people in other States.
Replying to a query during Question Hour on Thursday, the Minister said the State Government has asked the Centre to rationalise fertiliser and chemical use so that consumption does not harm public health.
He said vegetable cultivation in Telangana had declined sharply over the past few years. From more than 3 lakh acres earlier, vegetables are now grown on only around 50,000 acres. Farmers, he added, are turning to crops that offer them profits.
Restricting subsidies to select crops was another factor behind the fall, the Minister said. He also said the State had not made use of schemes launched by the Central Government over the past decade, which contributed to the steep decline.
The Congress government has since begun implementing several central schemes on a 60:40 expenditure-sharing basis, as part of efforts to improve the quality and yield of agriculture and allied sectors.
Steps have been taken to promote vegetable cultivation on a saturation mode, the Minister said, with the government encouraging organic farming and motivating young people to take it up for better financial returns.