AGRICULTURE Warangal District Villages Visited in Warangal District KANNARAOPET (Nallabelly Mandal) RANGAPUR (Khanapur Mandal) KAMMAPALLY (Narsampet Mandal) SAIREDDYPALLY (Nekkonda Mandal) MAQDUMPUR (Chennaraopet Mandal) 14 Mandals & 2 Revenue Divisions : Warangal (Rural) & Narsampet All the above 5 mandals in Narsampet Mandal Major Crops of the District • PADDY • TURMERIC • MAIZE • GROUND NUT • CHILLI • RED GRAM / GREEN GRAM • COTTON • SOYABEAN Soil Type in the Area: Red Loamy Sandy Soils MAJOR SOURCES OF IRRIGATION: MI (Minor Irrigation) Tanks Open/ Dug Wells Bore Wells Canal Irrigation (Pakal Lake) Category of Farmers • About 70 % of the farmers are marginal farmers in the region. • Unemployment major issue for landless agricultural labourers. • Seasonal Employment (only for 3 months in a year) • Land ownership titles not available to many farmers. Category of Farmers Rangapur Kannaraopet Marginal Farmer (Below 1 ha) 340 233 Small Farmer 77 182 Other Farmers 19 65 Tenant Famers 13 21 Landless Farmers (Agricultural Labourers) 36 Total number of Farmers 485 • Smaller the size of land holdings, smaller the level of mechanization of the agriculture and also the yield/ productivity is lower. Crop Yield Kg/Acre Net Returns (per acre) Paddy 2100 9610 Cotton 800 5920 Maize 2500 10900 Groundnut 800 17400 Soyabean 800 9800 • Productivity much lower in rainfed areas. • Lack of irrigation facility restricts cultivation of groundnut on large scale despite having highest net returns Issues in Agriculture • Lack of Canal Irrigation Facilities • Quantity risk associated with rice and cotton (price risk curbed by FCI and CCI) • Price as well as quantity risks in other crops • Lack of mechanization in agriculture; not many tractors were observed in the farms • No irrigation facility for second crop in a season. • Hard rock found beneath the soil makes it difficult to dig open wells or put bore wells at many places Issues in Agriculture • Lack of institutional credit for agricultural purposes, especially for landless, small and marginal farmers. • Absence of Patta passbooks with many farmers cultivating their own land. • Lack of Agricultural Marketing facilities Self- Help Groups and Stree Nidhi Banks under SERP good initiative to facilitate credit to farmers, especially women farmers and labourers Suggestive Measures Canal irrigation facilities need to be improved. Water supply from the Pakal Lake for irrigation purpose be increased and made more regular. Ponds need to be constructed under the MGNREGA. Creation and strengthening of MI Tanks under Mission Kakatiya MSP should also be announced for crops like pulses etc. Land Reforms need to implemented properly Land Reforms Andhra Pradesh / Telangana had a strong legacy of pro poor land legislations, but many last mile challenges prevail: Skewed ration of revenue officers and surveyors v/s land matters to be resolved. Weak dispute resolution and legal aid mechanisms. Powerful vested interests in the villages. Prevalent corruption in the revenue department dealing with land records at the village level. Pattas are not given even though poor are in occupation of unobjectionable lands Pattas are given, but possession not shown . Regularisation of Lands bought on plain paper (sadabainama) Land Reforms Telangana govt. recently took initiative to provide Pattas to farmers who bought their land on ‘sadabainama’ and update their names in the Pattadar list But many problems prevail in implementation: Absence of Link documents Incidence of corruption in revenue department in villages. Consent not given by the person whose name appears in the Pattadar list. Suggestive Measures • The government’s initiative to give Pattas to Sadabainama holders needs to be properly implemented. • Resolution of disputes regarding consent from the initial Pattadar need to expedite. • Forms for land titles, survey numbers etc. should be made available at the Panchayat level. • Full Digitisation of land records. • Security to tenants for land cultivation. • Distribution of government land to the poor needs to be expedited. .