Cultivation cost goes up, farmers land in debt trap

The cost of cultivation of principal crops has witnessed a steep rise in TS, pushing farmers into a debt trap.

The per hectare cultivation cost of paddy, maize and cotton has increased by more than 52, 92 and 150 per cent respectively over the last seven years.

The cost of cultivation in TS is much higher than in other states.

Higher usage of fertilizers and pesticides, higher dependency on borewells for irrigation are cited as the reason.

As per the “All India Debt and Investment Survey” by National Sample Survey (70th round), about 74 per cent of the total farmers in TS are in indebtedness.

The cost of cultivation of paddy per hectare in TS has increased from `54,932 to `83,515 from 2008-09 to 2014-15 amounting to 52 per cent, and maize from `38,405 to `73,767 (a whopping 92 per cent), while cost of cultivating cotton has shot up 150 per cent from `33,574 to `84,045.

A comparative analysis of the cost of cultivation of principal crops in TS with other major states revealed that per-hectare cost of cultivation in TS is much higher.

In 2013-14, the cost of cultivation for paddy and maize was the highest among the six major paddy producing states in India. While cultivating a paddy in one hectare cost `43,621 in Uttar Pradesh in 201213, it cost about `73,641 in TS. In Odisha, it was `44,000, West Bengal `56,000, Punjab `65,000 and `68,000 in AP.

These principal crops account for 75 per cent of gross cropped area in TS.

Agriculture minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy said, “The government is implementing a multi-pronged strategy to reduce the cost of cultivation and to increase income levels of farmers. Soil testing is being taken up in all the districts to evaluate the fertility of the soil to identify nutrients available and problems of salinity, sodicity of the farmland.”

The government has established 44 soil testing labs and plans to issue soil health cards to all farmers over a period of two years.

IN THE absence of information on soil types, farmers end up either using too much or too little fertilizers, increasing the cost of cultivation resulting in low yields and returns.