Farmers in some districts of the Telangana region of the state have been shifting to more profitable soyabean cultivation from crops like pulses, maize and paddy. This kharif season, the area under soyabean cultivation in the state has seen a phenomenal increase of 25 per cent with 4,78,388 acres, nearly one lakh acres more than last year.
Almost all of the soya produced comes from the Nizamabad and Adilabad districts with Medak and Karimnagar contributing small proportions. While soya has been an important crop in Adilabad district for more than a decade, it has made inroads into Nizamabad only recently. The area under soyabean cultivation in Nizamabad district has increased by about 30 per cent compared to last year. In Adilabad district, it has risen by 16 per cent compared to last year.
Joint director of agriculture, Nizamabad, J. Dharma Naik said, “The trend of growing soya has picked up since last year.” The reason farmers switch to soyabean is that it needs less investment and reaps high returns. “It is an easy and profitable crop and the yield is about 8-10 quintals per acre. It requires an investment of about Rs 6,500 per acre and sells for about Rs 3,200 to Rs 3,500 per quintal,” he said. Paddy sells at about Rs 1,100 per quintal and needs much higher investment.
Increase in the land under soya means a decrease in land under other crops. Officials said land under pulses, maize, and paddy has reduced. Paddy land lost to soya, they said, is only marginal and won’t have any adverse effects. “In Nizamabad district, around 12,000 acres of paddy is lost to soya, but it won’t affect paddy,” said state additional director of agriculture Vijayalakshmi. Pulses in the Telangana region have been sown on about 72,000 acres less than the season normal at this time. “Farmers generally shift to remunerative crops depending on the rainfall. This time, the monsoon was delayed,” she said.