Distressed farmers declare crop holiday

HYDERABAD: Last year, ahead of the kharif season, Konaseema farmers belonging to East and West Godavari districts hit the headlines by declaring a crop holiday. They felt it was better to be out of work than end up with heavy losses by cultivating paddy. Soon, farmers from Anantapur, Kurnool, Khammam and some parts of Telangana districts followed suit and stopped cultivating paddy.
Worried over rising prices of agriculture inputs, including seed and fertilizer, shortage of labour and lack of procurement price and storage space for food grains, the farmers opted for crop holiday, which shocked farm experts and agriculture scientists. It appears farmers of several villages in West and East Godavari districts are likely to take a cue and declare a crop holiday this kharif season also.
"We are losing heavily and not even getting even part of our investments. Why should we cultivate," asks Thota Subba Rao, a big farmer of Achanta in West Godavari. Experts point out that the cost of cultivation has gone up steeply from Rs 10,000 in 2005 to Rs 25,000 an acre in 2012. ""The ryots are not in a position to cultivate in the present circumstances. The government has done precious little to come to their rescue,"" says Chalapathi Rao, agriculture scientist.
Ryots of West Godavari recently convened a meeting and expressed their helplessness in taking up farming. While they are not sure about minimum guarantee for their crops, delayed monsoon and non-release of water from the reservoirs have pushed them to the brink. Farmer Ramana Rao alleges that the government has left them to fend for themselves. ""This reflects the acute crisis the farmers are facing," Chalapathi Rao points out.
Experts said if the farmers opted for crop holiday this kharif, it would lead to a major crisis in the production of foodgrains in the country. The total area under paddy cultivation in Andhra Pradesh is around 5.34 million hectares.