CONTENTS

Chapters Particulars Page No.

Executive Summary
I Introduction 14
1.1 Background 14
1.2 Main concerns of agricultural sector 15
1.3 Purpose of DAPs 17
1.4 Methodology 18
II General description of the district 21
2.1 Introduction 21
2.2 District at a Glance 28
2.3 Development Vision and Strategy 32
III SWOT analysis of the district 34
3.1 Introduction 34
3.2 Analysis of Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and 34
Threats (SWOT)
3.3 Addressing issues emerging out of the analysis 37
3.4 Sectoral / Regional growth drivers of the district 37
IV Development of Agricultural Sector 39
4.1 Introduction 39
4.2 Land Use 39
4.3 Soil Health 40
4.4 Water Resources and Management 41
4.5 Major Crops and Varieties in the district 43
4.6 Input Management 46
4.7 Farm Mechanization / Farm Equipment 49
4.8 Service Centers in the District 49
4.9 Constraint Analysis 49
4.10 Recommended interventions for the district with detailed 55
action plan and costs
4.11 Projected outcome and growth rates & Proposed sector-wise 70
growth rates
4.12 Researchable Issues 70
V Allied Agricultural Sectors 71
5.1 Introduction 71
5.2 Horticulture Development 71
5.3 Sericulture Development 77
5.4 Animal Husbandry (AH) Development 81
5.5 Fisheries Development 86
5.6 Watershed Development 90
5.7 Food Processing and Rural Industries 92
5.8 Comprehensive Land Development Project (Indira Prabha) 93
5.9 Social forestry 94
5.10 Agricultural Marketing 95
5.11 Agricultural Credit 99
5.12 Irrigation Development 100

1
 5.13 Projected outcomes and growth rate during XI Five Year 101
Plan
VI District Plan 102
6.1 Introduction 102
6.2 Growth Drivers 103
6.3 Innovative Schemes 104
6.4 Vision of XI plan 107
6.5 District plan 109
Annexures
Tables 110-226
Convergence of Schemes and Activities for Agricultural Development 227-234

Table no Title Page no.

1 District general information 128
2 Land Holdings (Agriculture Census 2001) 129
3 Data on Weather, 2006-07 130
4 Information on Natural Calamities 132
5 Different farming situations in the district 133
6 Horticulture in different farming situations 134
7 Group organization existed in the district 135
8.A Land use particulars of the district 135
8.B Land Utilization Statistics (2005-06) (ha) 136

9 Source wise Area irrigated in 2006-07 in hectares 137

10 Structure of income in Mahabubnagar district 138
11 Shares of different enterprises in district income 138
12 Soil Fertility Index 2001-02 to 2006-07 139
13 Micronutrient status (2000-01 to 2006-07) 140

2
 14 Planning of Soil Testing Program (2007-08 to 2011-12) 140
15 Soil Testing Laboratories 141
16 Water analysis report (2001-2008) 141
17 Protective (Community Tanks) Irrigation Plan- (Year 2007-08 to 142
2011-12)
18 Crop wise area coverage (ha) 142
19 Area, production and yield of major crops in Irrigated/ Rain fed 143
(kharif)
20 Area, Production and yield of major crops in Irrigated / Rainfed 143
conditions during Rabi Season 2006-07
21 Area, production and productivity of major crops 144
22 Area, Production and productivity trends of Main Crops District 146
23 Five years seed plan for mahabubnagar district 148

24 Infrastructure Available on Mandal Seed Farm / Trial cum 151

Demonstration Farm
25 Seed Production at TSF / TCD 151
26 Consumption of fertilizers for the last six years 152
27 Crop wise NPK Consumption (Year 2006-07) 152
Planning
28 Planning of Fertilizer Requirement Urea 154
29 Planning of Fertilizer Requirement DAP 155
30 Planning of Fertilizer Requirement MOP 156

List of Tables

31 Planning of Fertilizer Requirement SSP and complex fertilizers 157

32 Planning of total fertilizer requirement 158
33 Availability of Improved Farm Equipments and Machineries 159
34 160
Farm Machinery status and projection
35 Service centres in the District 164
36 Crop wise Yield Gap Analysis 165
37 Basic infrastructure for Agriculture (Post Harvest Management) 166
38 Farm Level Storage Plan 167
39 Organization and Strength of ATMA Model 167
40 Convergence of schemes through ATMA 168
41 Planning for Strengthening of ATMA 169
42 170
Proposals for supply of gypsum (Rs. In lakhs)
43 Reclamation and Development of Saline/Alkali soils in Next five 170
year
44 Proposals for supply of green manure seed 170

3
 45 Proposals for supply of zinc sulphate on subsidy 171
46 Proposals for supply of revolving fund for seed management 171
47 Number FFS organized, Kharif 2007 172
48 173
Trends in consumption of pesticides
49 Proposals for Farmers field schools 174
50 Farmers Field Schools Projection in Next Five Year 174
51 Proposals for Organic Farming activities in XI plan 176
52 IPM Demonstration in XI plan 176
53 INM Demonstration in XI plan 176
54 Verietal demonstrations in XI plan 177
55 Planning for Farmers Training Programs related to Agriculture and 178
Allied Departments
56 Training Infrastructure Proposed for Capacity Building of 179
Agriculture and Allied Department Staff
57 Supply of farm implements 180
58 Proposals for custom hiring centers and supply of farm implements 180
59 Proposals for sima rouba plantations 181
60 Proposals for extenstion services 181
61 Proposals for conjunctive use of water 182
62 Proposals for supply of sprinkler sets 182
63 Estimated requirement of funds for agricultural sector development 183
64 Area under other allied enterprises 184
65 Area under different horticultural crops, 2006-07 (ha) 185

66 Area, production and productivity of fruit crops, 2006-07 186

67 Area, Production and Yield of Major Horticulture Crops, 2005-06 187
68 Identification of critical issues, problems and opportunities under 188
crops
69 Area expansion plan of Horticultural Crops 189
70 Rejuvenation plan of Horticultural Crops 189
71 Planting Material production plan 190
72 191
Status of sericulture
73 Proposals for supply of rearing appliances 191
74 Proposals for providing assistance for drip irrigation systems 192
75 Proposals for supply of quality disinfectants 192

4
76 Proposals for construction of rearing houses 192
77 Proposals for establishment of vermi-compost units 192
78 Proposed Physical and Financial Targets for Sericulture for XI plan 193
79 Status of Livestock 195
80 Existence of Veterinary Institutions by ADA circle 197
81 Production Plan of Livestock during the Next Five Years 198
82 Taluk - wise Z.P.Outlay for Animal Husbandry During Xth Plan 200
period
83 Proposals for foot and mouth vaccination program 200
84 Proposals for induction of heifer calves 200
85 Proposals for feed support to heifer calves 201
86 Proposals for mobile disease diagnostic laboratories 201
87 Proposals for health care to sheep and goats 201
88 Proposals for supply of chaff cutters 202
89 Proposals for establishment of perennial fodder units 202
90 Proposals for induction of milch animals 202
91 Proposed Physical and Financial Targets for Animal Husbandry for 203
XI Plan
92 Status of fisheries 204
93 Source wise water spread Area in the District 205
94 Projections for Fish Production, Seed to be Stocked and Hatchery 206
Requirement for XI Plan
95 Projected Outlay (in Rs.Lakhs) for Fisheries Development during XI 207
Plan
96 Financial Targets and Achievements during X Plan for Fisheries 208
Development in the district
97 Proposal for development of fresh water cultures in tanks ( 208
98 Proposals for construction of fish markets 208
99 Proposals for providing the revolving fund to fisher women 209
100 Proposals for supply of nets and boats 209

5
101 Proposals for construction of fish ponds 209
102 Proposals for training and capacity building 209
103 Proposal for fish seed stocking in reservoirs 210
104 Proposals for strengthening departmental farms 210
105 PLANNING OF SOIL SURVEY PROGRAMME 211
106 Area available for Watershed Development and Plan 212
107 Technologies for insitu Moisture conservation plan 213
108 Progress of ongoing watersheds in the district 213
109 NWDPRA progress in the district 214
110 NWDPRA coverage during XI plan 214
111 Agro Processing Unit in the District 214
112 Farm Level Storage Plan 215
113 Basic infrastructure for Agriculture (Post Harvest Management) 215
114 No.of SSI units in the district by product 216

115 Action Plan KVI Programs Centre XI Plan 216

116 Progress during X Plan under District Industrial Centre 217
117 Action plan of DIC for XI Plan 217
118 CLDA proposals 218
119 Progress of plantation in the district 218
120 Marketing infrastructure plan 219
121 Proposal for establishment of rural markets 219
122 Proposal for establishment of farmer information centres 220
123 Proposal for establishment of e-trading centres 220
124 Proposal for establishment of e-trading infrastructure 220
125 Details of Credit Institutions in the District 221
126 Crop Loan Distribution in District during XI Five Year Plan 221
127 Loan Disbursement for Agriculture Development during XI plan 221
128 222
Credit plan for XI plan
129 Irrigation projects in the district 222
131 Interventions, investments, expected benefits and benefit cost ratios 223

6
 List of figures/graphs

Figure Title Page no.

no.
1 District Map 21
2 Distribution of farming situations in the district 24
3 Soils in Mahabubnagar district 30
4 Percent share of agricultural income in district 32
income
5 Area, production of crops during 2006-07 44
6 Total area under different crops 45
7 Consumption of nitrogen 47
8 Consumption of phosphorous 47
9 Consumption of potash 47
10 Yield gap analysis paddy 50
11 Yield gap analysis Red gram 51
12 Yield gap analysis Green gram 51
13 Yield gap analysis - Bengal gram 51
14 Yield gap analysis groundnut 52
15 Yield gap analysis sunflower 52
16 Yield gap analysis castor 53
17 Pesticide consumption in the district 60
18 Impact of SERP programs 62
Executive summary

Agriculture in Mahabubnagar district is beset with serious problems like shallow and
less water-retentive soils, low and uncertain rainfall and less coverage under
irrigation. Over the years, the irrigation coverage has improved to some extent
mainly because of bore wells. But the recharge is falling short of exploitation of
ground water due to which the water table has gone down. Water exploration has
also become a risky investment. The variability in rainfall distribution has increased
although the total quantum of rainfall has not decreased much. Farmers have shifted
to more commercial crops when compared to a few decades earlier. The cost of
cultivation is higher in case of commercial crops. Although, the promised returns are
also higher in case of commercial crops like cotton, castor, maize, ground nut and
sunflower, the risk of loosing the investment due to biotic and abiotic stresses is
higher. Due to these factors, the variability in net returns has increased considerably.
As the increase in output prices lags behind the growth in input prices and wages,
the profitability has eroded quite fast, rendering agriculture, in general, and dry land

7
farming, in particular, non-viable. During the recent five years, at least three were
sub-normal years due to which the performance of agriculture and allied sectors has
been quite dismal. The Prime Ministers Relief Package helped in reducing the debt
burden of the farmers to some extent. Similarly, the implementation of National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has benefited agricultural labor substantially.
Yet, the larger maladies of low productivity, lower output prices and depleting quality
of natural resources, soil and water, have pushed the agricultural sector to be a
marginal contributor of income to farm families.

The initiatives of the present state government like free power and irrigation
investments have generated a hope among the farmers. Due to proximity to capital
city and improved network of roads and communications, the land values have gone-
up in the district. Some farmers are focusing on development of horticultural
plantations to take advantage of rising demand for fruits. While exploiting
opportunities in the allied sectors, a massive effort and investment are needed to
improve the viability of agriculture in the district. Over the last four decades, farmers
have decreased the use of organic manures and increasingly relied on the use of
chemical fertilizers. Even in the use of chemical fertilizers, a balance is not
maintained. Invariably, nitrogenous fertilizers are used in excess relative to the
phosphatic and potassic fertilizers. The organic matter content of the soils has
dropped from about 0.5 to 0.6% in the 1960s to about 0.3 % now. The micro-nutrient
deficiencies are also cropping-up in more areas and in case of several crops. In
order to reverse these un-healthy trends, investments are needed for taking-up
green manures, for correction of micro-nutrient deficiencies and for increasing water-
use-efficiency.

The present comprehensive district agricultural plan is prepared with an emphasis on

long term strategies to improve the resource base over time, besides achieving
higher yields in the short-term. The inventions in case of field crops are aimed at
reclaiming the saline/alkaline soils, supply of green manure seed in paddy growing
areas, correction of micro-nutrient deficiencies of Zinc, Calcium and Sulphur,
improving the reach and effectiveness of agricultural extension services etc. In case
of marginal rainfed areas, a big scheme of growing Simarouba plantations is
proposed to provide a viable alternative to the farmers depending on rainfed

8
agriculture. In view of the growing labor scarcity, farm mechanization is given
prominence in order to carryout the operations timely. A number of custom hiring
centers are planned to enable the small and marginal farmers to use the machines
without owning them. For the tail end areas facing water scarcity, additional bore
wells will be dug to facilitate the conjunctive use of ground water along with the
limited water supply from the surface irrigation projects. In case of pulses and
oilseeds grown under limited irrigation facilities, sprinklers will be provided to reduce
water wastage and to achieve a higher water-use-efficiency. Since seed is a vital
input, emphasis is placed on seed village concept and on increasing the seed
replacement rate through the strengthening of farmer to farmer seed supply chain.
The regulatory infrastructure is sought to be improved by strengthening the seed and
soil testing laboratories. Besides increasing the number of agricultural officers and
service facilitators, model farmers will be trained and made use of in organizing the
commodity interest groups. The recent successes achieved in reducing the pesticide
use will be scaled-up by increasing the number of farmer-field schools. The viability
of each of these components is established through project analysis based on
realistic assumptions. A total investment of Rs. 30026 lakhs is envisaged for the
agricultural interventions in the eleventh plan period. The benefit-cost ratios of
different interventions range between 1.39 and 2.85. The execution of all these
schemes will take agriculture to a higher growth trajectory and result in an average
growth of 5.24 per cent per year. It would mean a substantial growth in the income of
the farm families and their living standards.

Horticulture has been in the ascendancy in the district during the last few years.
Many interventions are planned to increase the momentum of horticultural
development and achieve an annual average growth rate of 6.7 per cent per year.
Establishment of new gardens in 3200 ha and rejuvenation of old, un-productive
mango gardens in 500 ha and integrated management of sweet orange gardens in
500 ha are proposed to increase fruit production in the district. Similarly, cultivating
hybrid vegetables in 14000 ha and introduction of drip irrigation in vegetable crops to
a tune of 3000 ha in the next five years are expected to increase the vegetable
production in the district substantially. Promotion of organic farming through vermi-
composting is planned to increase the long-term fertility of the garden soils.
Providing support to erection of green houses and poly sheets is expected to give a

9
fillip to nursery raising activity, resulting in the reduction of seedling cost. Farm
mechanization, particularly for pest and disease control, will reduce the losses in
yield and increase the profit. In the extension machinery is sought to be
strengthened through appointment of horticultural officers and other staff needed for
promoting horticultural development in the state. All these interventions will together
cost Rs.2391.52 lakhs and the pay-offs from all the components are even higher
when compared to those from agriculture. The benefit cost ratios range between 1.5
and 3.23 in case of different interventions.

Sericulture is still in its infancy in the district. The area under mulberry cultivation and
sericulture can be increased several fold by investing on a package of interventions
proposed in the project. All these interventions will together cost Rs.204.22 lakhs.
The pay-off from this sub-sector is attractive with a benefit cost ratio of 2.87.
Because of the narrow base of sericulture in the district, a higher growth rate of
15.18 per cent can be achieved over the next five years period by implementing all
the interventions planned.

Animal husbandry is an important complementary enterprise to agriculture. This

sector has shown a better growth than agriculture in the last five years period. The
comprehensive and integrated district agricultural plan laid a lot of importance on the
development of animal husbandry in the district. In order to improve the genetic
stock of milch animals, both the adult animals as well as heifer calves are sought to
be inducted in large numbers in to the district. Such a massive infusion of new blood
and high yielding animals are expected to enhance milk production in the district.
Considerable investments are proposed on diagnosis and eradication of foot and
mouth disease through mass scale vaccination program. Similarly, health care is
sought to be provided to sheep and goats through vaccination to reduce mortality
and morbidity of small ruminants. Mobile disease diagnostic laboratories are
proposed to be introduced to accelerate the process of diagnosis of different
diseases in animals. Schemes are also proposed for supplying feed to heifer calves
and for organizing permanent fodder production units. Chaff cutters are proposed for
introduction to minimize the losses in feed. All these interventions would together
cost Rs. 5084.62 lakhs. The benefit cost ratios of these interventions range between

10
1.35 and 3.88. The implementation of all these schemes would result in an annual
average growth rate of 10.88 per cent over the next five years period.

The fisheries sector contributes only a small percentage to the district income.
However, it has a substantial growth potential both for culture and capture fisheries.
Some of the lands inundated by irrigation projects are un-suitable for paddy
cultivation and can profitably be converted in to fish ponds for culturing the fish. By
stocking the backwaters of Srisailam and Jurala reservoirs, fishermen can be
provided with livelihood opportunities for capturing the fish. Other interventions like
construction and strengthening of fish seed farms and supplying crafts and gear to
fishermen and development of fish markets would together contribute to the
development of fish production and marketing in the district. All these interventions in
fisheries sector will together cost Rs.1118.50 lakhs and the benefit cost ratio from
this sector is estimated at 1.86. The growth rate in the fisheries sector can be
increased to 12.72 per cent in view of the small base from where we are starting.

Marketing is the most important bottleneck faced by the farmers. Very often, the
prices received are non-remunerative to the farmers due to the collusion of traders in
the regulated markets. A farmer has to take his produce to 20 to 25 km to reach the
regulated market. It is both time consuming as well as costly to transport the
produce. As an alternative, it is proposed to develop infrastructure in the village
markets. In place of the present hub model, the new hub and spoke model will be
developed over the next five years to facilitate decentralized procurement under
minimum support price and market intervention schemes. It is also proposed to
establish farmer information centers to provide latest information of prices and
market arrivals of all market yards in the local language online. Besides market
information, information on package of cultivation practices, general health care and
food and nutrition will also be supplied through this system. It is also proposed to
provide e-trading solutions through computerization of markets and monitoring the
market operations. All these interventions in marketing sector are expected to cost a
total of Rs. 8654 lakhs and the benefit cost ratio expected from these investments is
estimated at 1.48.

11
The state government is investing heavily to more than double the area under
irrigation from 210230 ha to 570836 ha. Similarly, watershed development programs
are being taken-up with renewed vigor under various schemes. The credit availability
is sought to be increased from 92338 lakhs to 136000 lakhs in order to meet the
credit needs of the farmers. The stepping-up of irrigation investments is expected to
reduce water scarcity in many areas of the district as the ground water will be
recharged by irrigation canals. The Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP)
mainly implemented through NGOs is expected to reduce the incidence of rural
poverty in the district.

The entire strategy of development of agriculture and allied sectors is targeted not
only at short-term gains but also at long-term development of resources and
reversal of several unhealthy trends noted in the recent decade. It is hoped that the
investments proposed in the comprehensive district agricultural plan will increase the
growth rate in the agricultural sectors and increase both the per capita incomes and
household incomes of the farmers. It is also expected to provide more employment
to labor and reduce the migration of labor for which the district is known for. Higher
rural incomes would reduce urban-rural disparities and improve the quality of life in
the rural areas. It is hoped that all the schemes proposed in this plan will be
favorably considered and funded by the Government of India. Mahabubnagar district
being one of the difficult, backward and poor districts deserves all the support from
both Union and State governments!

Sector wise investments planned for Mahabubnagar district (Rs. in lakh)

Additional
Sl.
Name of the Sector Investments
No.
required
1 Agriculture 30026.00
2 Animal Husbandry 5084.62
3 Horticulture 2391.52
4 Sericulture 204.22
5 Fisheries 1118.50
6 Marketing 8654.00
TOTAL 47478.86

12
The total requirement of funds for implementing initiatives for agriculture
development during XI plan adds up to 406579.35. The RKVY can provide only a
small part of the requirement.

Proposed sector wise growth rates

If all the interventions proposed are adequately funded, it is estimated that the
following growth rates will result in different sub-sectors of the broad agricultural
sector (table 130).
Projected growth rates in different sectors
S.No. Sector 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Over five
year year year year year years
1 Agriculture 4.2 4.7 5.3 5.8 6.2 5.24
2 Horticulture 5.6 6.8 7.0 8.0 6.1 6.70
3 Sericulture 15.0 17.2 14.5 13.8 15.4 15.18
4 Animal Husbandry 9.5 9.9 10.7 11.8 12.5 10.88
5 Fisheries 7.4 15.0 14.4 13.8 13.2 12.72

*************

13
 Chapter 1
Introduction

1.1 Back ground

Andhra Pradesh is predominantly an Agricultural state. Nearly two-thrid of the labor

force in the state depends on it for their livelihoods. But the share of agriculture in the
state income dropped below 20 per cent and the indications are that it may further
fall to 15% in the next five years. Due to this, the gap between those dependent on
other sectors and on agriculture is widening. This phenomenon of retrogression
which is occurring in all parts of India is impacting the state much more severely. The
rural people are migrating urban areas and to distant places for livelihood. The state
which was once recognized as the granary of the south is now finding it difficult
even to meet its needs.

The state is adversely placed with respect to both soils and rainfall, which are the
key resources for agriculture. In India, the alluvial soils which are the most fertile type
of soils occupy about 40% of the land area. Another 40% of area is covered by black
soils which have intermediate levels of fertility. The red and sandy soils, which are
poor in fertility, occupy only 20% of the land area. But, in Andhra Pradesh, red and
sandy soils occupy as much as 65% of the land area and are very poor in soil
fertility. Only 25% of the area is under black soils, while the remaining 10% area is
under alluvial soils. Thus, the fertility as well as productivity levels of crops in Andhra
Pradesh are generally below the all India averages. The average annual rainfall of
the state is only 925 mm, as against the national average of 1150 mm. Besides the
low quantum of rainfall, there is a high degree of variability in the rainfall across
locations and years.

Only about 38% of the gross cropped area in state is irrigated. It is slightly higher
than the national average of about 35%. Due to poor soils and low rainfall, the need
for irrigation is quite high in Andhra Pradesh. Rainfed farming gives very poor yields
and contributes only about 22% to agricultural production as against 44% which is
the estimated contribution of rainfed farming at the national level. The state is
frequently affected by droughts of moderate to severe intensity. Equally frequent are
the instances of damages to crops by floods, heavy rains and cyclones. Agriculture

14
in the state is risky and less viable when compared with the other parts of the
country.

Andhra Pradesh had the benefit of irrigation projects constructed 160 years ago on
rivers, Godavari and Krishna. But as the upper riparian states, Maharashtra and
Karnataka have built many projects in the up streams of these rivers. During drought
years, water flows in the rivers are quite scanty as it happened during the early years
of 21st century. The agricultural production received a set back and farmers reeled
under continuous droughts. The production costs have risen faster than the output
prices and farming has become non-viable, particularly in the predominantly rainfed
areas of the state. The farmers have shifted to cash crops because of non-viability of
food crops. It increased risks and farmers ended up with losses quite frequently. The
tenant farmers and small farmers are unable to access credit from institutional
sources and had to depend on moneylenders who charge higher rates of interest.
The average debt per farmer in Andhra Pradesh was found to be twice the amount at
the all India level. Due to frequent crop failures and harassment of lenders, many
farmers lost hope and committed suicides. The relief package of Prime Minister
helped some farmers in the chronically drought hit districts. But, agricultural sector
needs more investments both from the government as well as from the farmers to
face the problems confronting it.

1.2 The main concerns of agricultural sector in the state are summarized
below:

1. Land continues to be a critical concern from many angles. On one side,

size of the operational holding has been coming down significantly. On
the other side, soil health has deteriorated significantly in the recent past
affecting factor productivity especially of fertilisers. The reduction of the
organic carbon in the soil also led to many micro-nutrient deficiencies,
besides deterioration in the texture and structure of the soils which again
adversely impacted moisture retention capacity.
2. Wide fluctuations in sown area as well as in irrigated area have become a
common phenomenon. Weather changes, monsoon failures, un-scientific
ground water exploitation, poor reservoir-management, power shortages

15
 and investment-holiday in the 1990s in surface irrigation and drainage,
are mainly responsible for this unfortunate development. To get over
these problems, the state should focus on conjunctive-use of surface and
ground water, investments in surface irrigation and drainage, watershed
management in rained areas and special effort to bring current fallows
and cultivable wastes under cultivation.
3. There is a clear deceleration in crop-sector growth in recent past. This is,
on account of many factors including failure in maintaining soil health
and inadequate investments in irrigation. But the most notable among all
the factors responsible for the poor performance is the failure to bridge
yield gaps in almost all the major crops. These gaps are because of
knowledge gaps or lack of skills and awareness or due to resource
constraints. Critical interventions are needed to bridge the substantial
yield gaps.
4. Reinvigorating extension and research systems is crucial as investment in
both these areas is low when compared to the same in neighbouring
states. Without a good extension system, other interventions cannot be
implemented.
5. Substantial indebtedness in the farming community and poor credit
coverage are other matters of concern. Due to rise in cost of production,
the credit needs have increased. But due to increase in the oral tenancy
contracts, the accessibility to credit from formal financial institutions has
become difficult, particularly for the tenant farmers. Decline in long-term
credit for making investments in assets like wells has become a serious
concern. High rate of failures in digging wells is another issue about
which the state has to worry.
6. There is urgency to un-burden agriculture by shifting substantial man-
power to non-farm sector, as gainful employment opportunities are
limited in agricultural sector.
7. Rainfed agriculture continues to be less rewarding. More than 70% of the
area under rained cultivation is covered by oil seeds, pulses and cotton.
The poor performance in oil seeds sector has caused stagnation in the
crop sector. Besides seed, extension and credit which are common to
both irrigated and rainfed agriculture, special focus on watershed

16
 management, diversification to tree crops and good mechanization are
vital for rainfed agriculture.
8. Improving the marketing efficiency by modernization, expansion of
infrastructure and establishment of specialized markets for commodities
like banana, turmeric, chillies, onions etc, is the need of the hour.
9. Minimizing production losses, substitution of inefficient native breeds by
more input-responsive breeds and expansion of procurement network
are needed for the development of livestock sector.
10. Poor productivity levels of fruit crops because of large extents under old
and senile gardens needs early attention. Use of hybrid seeds in
vegetable crops, expansion of areas under modern and efficient micro-
irrigation systems, poly-houses for quality and off-season production and
investments for modernizing markets and processing units are the
interventions needed in horticultural sector.
11. Poor productivity levels of fish in case of reservoirs and tanks are
concerns which need to be addressed. The gap in productivity levels
across districts needs special attention. Modern mechanized crafts and
quality infrastructure are also necessary for exploitation of marine
resources.
12. Productivity levels in mulberry based sericulture are quite lower than what
they are in neighbouring China. Reeling infrastructure is also very poor
and inefficient in the state. Both the problems related to production and
processing are to be addressed.

1.3 Purpose of DAPs

The district agricultural plans are being prepared in this background to serve the
purpose of attracting more investments for the development of agriculture. While
announcing the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Prime Minister mentioned
that the central government will support the states which are increasing their own
investments for agricultural development. The state government has stepped up
investments on surface and lift irrigation projects to utilize the river waters that are
flowing in to the sea. On several occasions, the political leadership has reiterated its
commitment to the welfare of the farmers in the state. It is supplying power to the

17
farmers who lift water from below the ground free of cost. But the massive
investments involved in surface irrigation projects and supply of free power do not
normally count as expenditures meant for agricultural development. The state
government has been pleading with the government of India to consider these critical
investments as agricultural development expenditures. While the decisions on these
aspects are awaited, the state government is interested to increase other
investments meant for agricultural development. The district agricultural plans are
being prepared in a bottom-up manner to assess the requirements of funds for
development of agriculture and allied sectors in each of the districts. While seeking
support from RKVY, the state government is interested in mobilizing funds for
agricultural development from other schemes and sources. Although when the
development plans are prepared, the available funds may be falling short of
requirements, other opportunities may arise in due course to access additional funds
needed from donors and development investors.

1.4 Methodology

The state government has divided the 9 Agro-climatic zones in the state namely High
altitude and tribal area, North coastal, Godavari, Krishna, Southern, Northern
Telangana, Central Telangana, Southern Telangana and Scarce rainfall zones into
322 farming situations based on the cropping pattern, availability of irrigation source,
soil class, temperature levels and rainfall data. In each farming situation, careful
analysis was carried out on the yield gaps for each crop. The yield gap was
calculated as the difference between the best farmers yield of that crop in that
specific farming situation and the representative (average) farmers yield of that crop
in the same situation. The factors responsible for the yield gap were identified
through discussions with the farmers and the scientists from SAU. The gap was
mainly on account of differences in knowledge, skills, awareness and resources.
Knowledge, awareness and skill gaps could be bridged only through strengthening
extension system, training and demonstrations. Resource gaps are planned to be
bridged by promoting investments and subsidising critical inputs.

The planning is also done from the micro-level. After the setting up of Agricultural
Technology Management Agency (ATMA), there is an emphasis on micro level

18
planning. Block level technology teams are conducting diagnostic surveys in different
farming situations and are identifying constraints. Almost all the villages are covered
by these surveys and the feedback is collected from a number of groups of farmers.
Wherever possible, sarpanches and members of the gram panchayat were involved
with the processes of taking feed back and diagnosing the constraints. The data
collected from the panchayat level are aggregated first at the mandal level
(comprising of 15 to 20 villages) and then at the ADA circle level (more or less
corresponding to taluka level in other states). The data on area, production,
productivity, problem soils etc are validated at the mandal level. The data are finally
aggregated at the district level. The thrust areas are decided based on the feed back
from villages. The objectives and concerns expressed by the farmers also relate to
increasing productivity, building up of soil fertility, market oriented production,
mechanization and micro-irrigation to improve precision and resource productivity.
The aspirations of the farmers are reflected in high growth rates targeted for the XI
plan period. Production strategies are planned for different sub-sectors and the
investment requirements are estimated.

After completing yield gap analysis for all the crops in all the farming situations, the
attention has turned to administration of interventions at the field level. There are
more than 21000 gramapanchayats in Andhra Pradesh, each covering a population
of 500 to 15000. There is no delivery system at present at the Grama panchayat
level for extension purposes. Appointing extension workers in all gramapanchayats
for all departments is found to be not viable and, hence, it was decided to cosider
mandal parishad as an ideal administrative unit for implementation purpose. Each
mandal covers approximately 10000 ha and 15 to 20 villages. Various departments
have their field level functionaries located at the mandal level. After zeroing on
mandal level, 322 farming situations were superimposed on the 1104 Mandals. As
expected, we have the mandal level farming situations covering all the crops grown
in that mandal. Using this base data and yield gap analysis carried out already,
mandal level crop sector agricultural plans were prepared by the SAU and
departmental teams jointly. Horticultural crops and sericulture were also included in
the mandal level agricultural plan. Other allied departments like animal husbandry,
fisheries etc have developed the plans similarly and given their mandal level plans
separately which were integrated in the District Agricultural Plan. However, reporting

19
data by mandal is found to be unwieldy. Some of the large districts have more than
60 mandals and reporting such detailed information by mandal was considered to be
too cumbersome. Hence, the mandal level information was aggregated by ADA circle
and data were reported by ADA circle. Each district has about 10 to 20 ADA circles
and they are akin to taluks in other states. Since the standard formats given by the
government of India require reporting of results by taluk, this level of aggregation is
considered appropriate.

The departmental plans looked at the availability of resources from existing schemes
and the balance amounts required for the interventions were shown as additional
funds needed for that intervention at the district level. By integrating all the district
plans and prioritising major interventions, the state level agricultural plan will be
drawn. Proposals under stream-I of RKVY are worked out based on the major
interventions proposed. Of course, plans for research under Acharya N.G Ranga
Agricultural University (ANGRAU), Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University (SVVU),
Horticultural University and broadband connectivity will be aggregated at the state
level only. There is a quasi-government agency, Society for Elimination of Rural
Poverty (SERP), which is implementing some initiatives to reduce use of pesticides
and to promote marketing of some products. Wherever possible, the activities of
SERP were integrated in to the district agricultural plans.

20
 Chapter II
General description of the district

2.1 Introduction

Mahabubnagar is a sprawling district with 18.473 lakh ha geographical area,

which lies between 15.53 0 and 17.900 Northern latitude and 77.31 0 and 78.470
Eastern longitude. Historically the district was popular as Palamuru The district is
bordered by Nalgonda & Prakasam on East, Kurnool district on South, Karnataka
state on West and Ranga Reddy district on North.

2.1.1 Map of the district

Fig 1 District map

2.1.2 General statistics

The total population of Mahabubnagar district, as per 2001 census, was 35,13,934
(table 1). They live in 1544 revenue villages organized in to 1350 gram panchayats.

21
Narayanapet ADA circle has the highest number of revenue villages but Gadwal ADA
circle has the highest number of gram panchayats. The population density worked
out to 202 per sq.km. Mahabubnagar ADA circle has the highest population due to
the location of district head quarters. It is closely followed by Gadwal ADA circle.
Amangal ADA circle has the lowest population as well as the least number of villages
and gram panchayats. The share of Scheduled caste population in the district is 16.4
per cent, while that of Scheduled tribe is 7.9 per cent. The scheduled caste
population is concentrated more in Gadwal, Shadnagar, Achampet, Kalwakurthy and
Manopad ADA circles, while the scheduled tribe population is concentrated more in
Achampet and Jadcherla ADA circles. The sex ratio in the district is 1: 0.97. The
female population exceeded the male population in Narayanapet and Kodangal ADA
circles and it was almost equal in Atmakur ADA circle.

Land holdings

The pressure on land is relatively less in Mahabubnagar district. The distribution of

land holdings is presented in table 2.

Marginal farmers account for about 28 per cent of the total holdings in the district
(table 2). But their share in the total land is only about 13.0 per cent. The small
farmers form about 23 per cent of the land holdings. Their share in the total land
owned by private persons is about 11.1 per cent. The semi-medium category (2 to 4
ha size) have the highest number of farmers accounting for 39.2 per cent of the total
land holdings. They also own 35.3 % of the total land held by the private persons in
the district. The medium sized farms (4 to 8 ha size) account for only 4.8 per cent of
the total holdings. But their share in the total land owned was about 10.8 per cent.
Large farms (above 8 ha size) account for 5.2 per cent of the land holdings and their
share in the land owned is as high as 29.8 per cent. The average size of holding in
the district is about 3.78 ha. More marginal farms were located in Wanaparthy and
Kodangal ADA circles. At the other extreme, the large farms are concentrated more
in Narayanapet and Gadwal ADA circles. Thus, the land distribution in
Mahabubnagar district is quite unequal just as it is anywhere else in the state.
However, the pressure on land is relatively less and the average size of holding is
much above the state average.

22
Weather information

The rainfall of the district is influenced by mainly the Southwest monsoon. Total
normal rainfall of the district is 604.4 mm. The contribution of Southwest monsoon
(June - Sept) to rainfall is 446.8 mm. The contribution of Northeast monsoon (Oct-
Dec) is 121.0 mm. Winter season rainfall is quite meager at 3.4 mm (Jan-Feb) and
the remaining 22.9 mm is received during the hot weather period (Mar-May).

The Agricultural season commences with the onset of Southwest Monsoon,

generally during 2nd week of June every year. The agro climatic conditions are
almost uniform in all the revenue divisions and Gattu and Dharur Mandals of Gadwal
Revenue division falls under scanty rainfall zone.

Table 3 presents the weather data of 2006-07 year for all the mandal head quarters
in Mahabubnagar district. The average rainfall in the district was 503.8 mm. It ranged
between 336.7 in Ghattu mandal and 630 mm in Amrabad mandal. The number of
rainy days in the district averaged 10.5. Manopad had the highest number of rainy
days of 20, while Koilkonda had the lowest number of rainy days of 4. The average
maximum temperature was 40.5 centigrade and the average minimum temperature
was 16.9 centigrade.

During the last 10 years, the district was affected by droughts in five years (table 4).
All the mandals were affected in 1997-98, 1999-2000, 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2004-
05. 56 out of 64 mandals were affected by drought in 2006-07. 19 mandals were
affected 2003-04 and a lone mandal was affected in 2005-06. During 2006-07, 1.61
lakh ha area was affected by drought. The droughts were of moderate severity
during the last ten years. Except drought, the district was not affected by either flood
or cyclone or heavy rains in the last 10 years. It was not subjected to any damage
due to earthquake or pest/disease outbreak.

Farming situations

23
Mahabubnagar district lies in Southern Telangana Agro climatic zone. Although from
climatic point of view the area in the district is uniform, considerable variation is
observed from one place to another even within a village. The district is divided into
11 farming situations based on the soil types and source of irrigation.

Farming situations and agricultural enterprises

Based on resource availability, particularly the soils and irrigation facilities, the district
is divided into eleven farming situations.

Fig 2 Distribution of farming situations in the district

FS Area in ha

F.S-1 F.S-2 F.S-3 F.S-4 F.S-5 F.S-6

F.S-7 F.S-8 F.S-9 F.S-10 F.S-11

The description of farming situations in the Mahabubnagar district is given below:

FS-1 (BLACK SOILS IRRIGATED UNDER R.D.S. CANAL)

Under this faming situation black soils are predominant and the source of irrigation is
Rajoli Banda Diversion Scheme (Canal). The extent of black soils is 12574 ha. Rice
is the main crop grown under this situation. During rabi, ground nut and sunflower
are sown in more than 75% of the area. This situation covers 5 mandals i.e.,
Alampur, Ieza, Itikyal, Manopad and Vaddepally.

FS- 2 RED SOILS IRRIGATED UNDER JURALA PROJECT CANAL

24
Red sandy soil is the main soil type under this situation and Jurala Project irrigates
these soils. 23438 ha are the area under this farming situation and rice is the main
crop since irrigation is assured. Ground nut and sunflower are taken up in tail end
areas. Seven mandals covered by this situation are Atmakur, Gadwal, Itikyal,
Panagal, Pebbair, Kothakota and Weepangandla.

FS-3 BLACK SOILS IRRIGATED UNDER TANKS WITHOUT

CONJUNCTIVE USE

Under this faming situation black soils predominate. These soils are irrigated under
tanks without conjunctive use. The extent of area under this situation is 6172 ha.
Rice is the sole crop during kharif and majority of the area in the rabi season is under
bengal gram. This situation is observed in parts of 24 mandals, namely Achampet,
Amrabad, Atmakur, Bijenepally, Bomraspet, Damaragidda, Devarakadra, Dharur,
Doulatabad, Gattu, Ieza, Itikyal, Pebbair, Utkur, Kodangal, Kollapur, Kondurg, Kosgi,
Kothur, Maddur, Maganooor, Weepangandla, Makthal and Maldakal.

FS-4 RED SOILS IRRIGATED UNDER TANKS WITHOUT

CONJUNCTIVE USE

Red sandy soils dominate this situation and these soils are irrigated under tanks
without support from wells. An extent of 39616 ha is under this farming situation.
Rice is grown in most of the area in kharif while maize is most important crop in rabi.
This situation is spread over 57 mandals of the district with the exception of Alampur,
Devarakadra, Ghanpur, Manopad, Midgil, Vaddepally and Kodangal mandals.

FS-5 BLACK SOILS IRRIGATED UNDER TANKS WITH CONJUNCTIVE

USE

This farming situation covers a small area of 1482 ha. Black soils predominate this
situation and tanks backed-up by wells irrigate them. The main crop is rice during
both kharif and rabi seasons. It is spread over small pockets of 25 mandals, namely
Achampet, Amrabad, Atmakur, Bijenepally, Bomraspet, Damaragidda, Devarakadra,
Dharur, Doulatabad, Gattu, Ghanpur, Peddamandadi, Itikyal, Pebbair, Utkur,

25
Kodangal, Kollapur, Kondurg, Kosgi, Kothur, Maddur, Maganooor, Weepangandla,
Makthal and Maldakal.

FS-6 RED SOILS IRRIGATED UNDER TANKS WITH CONJUNCTIVE

USE

Red sandy soils are the main soil type under this situation. Tanks with the support of
wells irrigate them. The extent of area under this situation is 7167 ha and the main
crop is rice. It is spread over pockets of 54 mandals in the district except for Alampur,
Devarakadra, Dharur, Ghanpur, Ieza, Peddamandadi, Manopad, Midgil, Vaddepally
and Kodangal mandals.

FS-7 BLACK SOILS IRRIGATED UNDER WELLS

Under this faming situation black soils predominate and they are irrigated by wells.
During kharif season, rice is the main crop along with chillies and cotton in some
area. During rabi, majority of the area is under sunflower. The extent of area under
this situation is 9435 ha. It is spread over 30 mandals, namely Achampet, Alampur,
Amrabad, Bijenepally, Bomraspet, Damaragidda, Gadwal, Devarakadra, Dharur,
Doulatabad, Ghanpur, Ieza, Peddamandadi, Itikyal, Hanwada, Manopad, Pebbair,
Kesampet, Shadnagar, Utkur, Vaddepally, Kodangal, Kollapur, Kondurg, Kosgi,
Kothur, Maddur, Madgul Maganooor, Weepangandla, and Maldakal.

FS-8 RED SOILS IRRIGATED UNDER WELLS

Red sandy soils are the main soils under this situation. They are irrigated by wells.
The extent of area under this situation is 74846 ha and the main crop is rice in both
kharif and rabi. Ground nut, sunflower, chillies and cotton are the other crops grown.
This situation is spread over 58 mandals of the district except for Alampur, Manopad,
Hanwada, Peddamandadi, Vaddepally and Kodangal mandals.

FS-9 HEAVY SOILS RAINFED

This situation is characterized by heavy black soils and crops are grown under rain
fed condition. The extent of area under this situation is 162223 ha. Cotton, sunflower,
chillies, maize, red gram and green gram are the crops grown during kharif, while

26
jowar, bengal gram, safflower and sunflower are grown during rabi. This situation
exists in 32 mandals, namely Alampur, Amrabad, Atmakur, Achampet Bijenepally,
Bomraspet, Damaragidda, Gadwal, Dharur, Doulatabad, Gattu, Ieza, Peddamandadi,
Itikyal, Manopad, Pebbair, Kesampet, Shadnagar, Utkur, Narayanpet, Vaddepally,
Kodangal, Kollapur, Kondurg, Kosgi, Kothur, Lingal, Maddur, Madgul, Maganooor,
Weepangandla, and Maldakal mandals.

FS-10 LIGHT SOILS RAINFED

This situation consists of light soils belonging to sandy red and sandy loam
categories. Crops are grown totally under rain fed condition. This is the most
dominant farming situation covering 575872 ha, which is 63 per cent of the total
sown area in the district. It covers most of the sown area in 58 mandals except for
Alampur, Peddamandadi, Manopad, Vaddepally, Kodangal and Lingala mandals.
Castor and maize are the main crops during kharif followed by jowar, cotton, ground
nut, red gram and green gram.

FS-11 PROBLEMATIC SOILS

Under this situation, problematic soils like saline and alkaline soils exist in an area of
5450 ha. Rice is the only crop grown as it can survive under these conditions. These
problematic soils spread over 26 mandals, namely Amrabad, Atmakur, Bijenepally,
Damaragidda, Doultabad, Gopalpet, Ieza, Manopad, Narayanpet, Narva, Pebbair,
Peddakothapally, Shadnagar, Tadoor, Telkapally, Utkur, Vaddepally, Kodangal,
Kollapur, Kosgi, Maddur, Madgul, Maganoor, Weepangandla, Makthal and Maldakal
mandals.

The most important farming situation is the rain fed light soils which accounts for 63
per cent of the total cropped area. It is distantly followed by rain fed heavy soil
farming situation and red soil well irrigated situation which together account for one-
fourth of the total area. All the other eight farming situations account for very small
areas with a combined share of 12 per cent. Rice is the common crop in farming
situations, one to four. Castor, maize, ground nut and sorghum are mostly grown in

27
farming situation-10 while sunflower and bengal gram are generally grown in farming
situation-9. Cotton and horticultural crops dominate farming situations, 5 to 8. Red
gram and other pulses are generally grown as inter-crops except in Kondangal and
Kosgi areas where red gram is grown as a sole crop. Most of the problematic soils
have access to irrigation and are devoted to rice cultivation. Some of them could be
converted to fish rearing profitably.

Horticulture is gaining ground in the recent years due to depletion of water table,
rising labor costs and increasing phenomenon of absentee landlordism. Most of it is
concentrated in farming situations, eight and two. Red soils irrigated by wells and
Jurala project canals are attracting different horticultural crops due to well drained
conditions. Some of them are taken-up in red soils even under rain-fed conditions
(farming situation-10).

Animal husbandry is a supplementary enterprise and it failed to develop as a lead

enterprise for want of round the year fodder supply. Sheep and goat rearing is a
profitable enterprise and is sustained by grazing on the culturable wastes, field
bunds and mountainous terrain. Sericulture is still in infancy in the district.

In Mahabubnagar district, there are 197 farmers clubs with a total membership of
9850 (table 7). The number of Rythu Mitra groups is much higher at 10880 with a
total membership of 163200. Farmers clubs and Rythu Mitra groups are spread over
all the 1351 villages in the district.

2.2 District at a glance

2.2.1 Location and geographical units

Mahabubnagar is a sprawling district with 18.473 lakh ha geographical area,

which lies between 15.53 0 and 17.900 Northern latitude and 77.31 0 and 78.470
Eastern longitude. Historically the district was popular as Palamuru The district is
bordered by Nalgonda & Prakasam on East, Kurnool district on South, Karnataka
state on West and Ranga Reddy district on North. The district comprises of 5
Revenue Divisions, namely Mahabubnagar, Nagarkurnool, Gadwal, Narayanpet

28
and Wanaparthy. They are further divided in to 64 mandals covering 15 ADA sub-
divisions and consisting of 1351 revenue villages. The district is characterized by
scanty rainfall, mild winters and hot and dry summers. Drought is a common
phenomenon in the district due to scanty and uneven rainfall in the monsoon season.

2.2.2 Demographic features

The total population of the district is 35.14 lakh. Agriculture is the predominant
occupation in Mahabubnagar district. The growth and development of the district is
entirely dependent on agricultural production, as three-fourths of the population of
the district depends on agriculture and allied activities.

2.2.3 Land utilization

Only 42 per cent of the total geographical area is sown to crops due to low rainfall
and less fertile soils (table 8.A). The area under forest was about 14.0 % of the
geographical area in the district (Table 8.B). Kalwakurthy and Manopod ADA circles
did not have any forest area. It is concentrated in Atmakur ADA circle, distantly
followed by Narayanapet ADA circle. The current fallow accounted for as much as
25.8 % of the geographical area in 2005-06. It reflects low fertility of soils and non-
viability of farming. Achampet and Kalwakurthy ADA circles have big concentration of
current fallows. Added to this is another 5.9 per cent area which is under permanent
fallow. 5.5% of the area is under barren and uncultivable land, while another 4.1%
area is under non-agricultural use. Only 1.3% of the area was under permanent
pastures. Thus, only 42% of the geographical area was sown to crops. The cropping
intensity was quite low at 109 per cent. Kodangal and Narayanapet ADA circles have
the highest net sown area.

2.2.4 Irrigation and ground water

a) Rivers
The Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers drain Mahabubnagar district. The Krishna river
enters the district at Krishna village of Maganoor Mandal from Karnataka state. It
runs in a south easterly direction through Atmakur, Kothakota, Pebbair,
Weepangandla, Kollapur, Gadwal and Dharoor Mandals and flows into Srisailam
Reservoir. The projects across this river are the Priyadarshini Jurala Project and

29
Srisailam project (left bank). The river Tungabhadra enters the district at Alampur
Mandal. It flows easterly through Alampur mandal and then enters Kurnool District.

b) Forests

The total Forest area in the district is 2.27 lakh ha which accounts for 13% of the
total Geographical area. The famous Nallamala forest is situated mainly in Amrabad
and Lingal mandals of Nagarkurnool revenue division. Social forestry is taken-up by
some farmers who raise Subabul and Eucalyptus on field bunds and wastelands.

c) Soils
Red sandy soils occupy the largest share of 43 per cent of the area in the district
followed by sandy loam soils covering another 37% of the area. The black cotton
soils cover the remaining 20%. All the soils are well drained with low nitrogen
content, medium phosphorous level and high availability of potash. There are
problematic soils such as saline/alkaline in an extent of 35000 ha which need to be
addressed with suitable reclamation measures.

Fig 3 SOILS IN MAHABOOBNAGAR DISTRICT

20%
Black Cotton soils
43%
Sandy loams

Sandy soils

37%

d) Irrigation
The net area irrigated in Mahabubnagar district is about 0.97 lakh ha which is about
11.9% of the gross sown area. The area irrigated by different sources is detailed
below:

30
Only 11.9 per cent of the gross cropped area in the district receives the support of
irrigation (table 9). Irrigation by canals from projects on Krishna and Tungabhadra is
concentrated in the ADA circles of Gadwal, Wanaparthy, Atmakur, Manopad and
Kollapur. These canals have a share of only 17.7 per cent in the total irrigated area
of the district. Tank irrigation is concentrated in Wanaparthy, Gadwal, Atmakur,
Narayanapet and Kodangal ADA circles. They have a share of 18.7 per cent in the
total irrigated area in the district. The open wells are virtually non-functional in any
part of the district. Tube/bore wells are the main sources of irrigation in the district.
They account for 61.4 per cent of the irrigated area in the district. The data on the
number of tube/bore wells were not available for ADA circles other than Atmakur. But
it is obvious that Gadwal ADA circle, which leads in well irrigation, followed by
Atmakur and Wanaparthy. Bijinapally, Amangal and Nagarkurnool ADA circles have
very little area under well irrigation. Lift irrigation is accessible only to some areas in
Atmakur ADA circle. Among all the ADA circles, Gadwal, Wanaparthy and Atmakur
ADA circles have more than 10% area under irrigation. The irrigation percentage is
lowest in Bijinapally Amangal and Nagarkurnool ADA circles.

2.2.5 District income

In 1993-94, the share of primary sector in the district income was 29.5% and it was
much lower than that in the state of Andhra Pradesh (table 10). When compared to
state average, the shares of secondary and tertiary sectors in Mahabubnagar district
were higher. Because of poor resource base, primary sector of the district performed
poorer than at the state level. But, primary sector could hold its share at 30% in
2002-03, while the primary sector in the state lost its share from 35.7% to 27.1%. It is
a remarkable achievement for the primary sector in Mahabubnagar district at the
same share for nearly a decade, when the general trend for the primary sector is to
lose its share with the passage of time. The secondary sector in Mahabubnagar
district lost its share in the period of one decade and the tertiary sector registered a
gain to the same extent.

31
 Fig 4 Percent of share of agriculture in the district income

40

35 33.40
32.30 32.17 32.26

30
25.08
25
GDP
%

20 GDP%

15

10

0
2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05
YEAR

The share of agriculture in the district income rapidly declined from about one-third
to about one-fourth with in five years i.e., 2000-01 to 2004-05 (table 11). But with in
the agricultural sector, the sub-sectors behaved differently. The crop sector lost its
share rapidly from 24% to about 15% with in five years. Continuous droughts during
this period might have caused this rapid decline. But the livestock sector performed
better with its share doubling between 2000-01 and 2002-03. But, it also lost its
share in the next two years to reach 9.14% in 2004-05. Yet, it managed to have a
higher share in the district income when compared with the base year. The
performance of fisheries sector also varied between years, but it managed to retain
its share almost at the same level as in the base year.

2.3 Development vision and strategy

The broad vision and strategy have been developed at the state level. The important
objective is to accelerate the production of different commodities mainly through
improvements in productivity. There is also emphasis on reclamation of problem soils
and putting fallow lands under plantations like simarouba, jatropha, pongamia etc to
contribute to the production of bio-fuels. But the planning is also done from the
micro-level. After the setting up of Agricultural Technology Management Agency

32
(ATMA), there is an emphasis on micro level planning. Block level technology teams
are conducting diagnostic surveys in different farming situations and are identifying
constraints. Almost all the villages are covered by these surveys and the feedback is
collected from a number of groups of farmers. Wherever possible, sarpanches and
members of the gram panchayat were involved with the processes of taking feed
back and diagnosing the constraints. The data collected from the panchayat level are
aggregated first at the mandal level (comprising of 15 to 20 villages) and then at the
ADA circle level (more or less corresponding to taluka level in other states). The data
on area, production, productivity, problem soils etc are validated at the mandal level.
The data are finally aggregated at the district level. The thrust areas are decided
based on the feed back from villages. The objectives and concerns expressed by the
farmers also relate to increasing productivity, building up of soil fertility, market
oriented production, mechanization and micro-irrigation to improve precision and
resource productivity.
The aspirations of the farmers are reflected in high growth rates targeted for
the XI plan period. Production strategies are planned for different sub-sectors and
the investment requirements are estimated. A part of the support to implement these
plans will, hopefully, come from RKVY. The district and state level officials of different
departments will have to find the balance of resources from other schemes, which
are operational in the district.
Based on the priority of the state and the aspirations of the farming
community, the district plan will work with a vision of Improved living standards of
farmers of Mahabubnagar district through sustained management of natural
resources and increased returns from farming thereby reducing the migration for
livelihoods.

33
 Chapter III
SWOT analysis of the district

3.1 Introduction

Before taking up any planning activity, it is necessary to assess the strengths and
weaknesses of the resources in the district. The opportunities thrown open by the
processes of growth after the new economic policies have been unleashed and the
potential threats arising from competition have to be studied in detail. An attempt is
made to highlight the main strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
confronted by Mahabubnagar district with particular reference to agricultural sector.

3.2 Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT)

Mahabubnagar district is not eminently suited for agricultural enterprises due to

shallow soils, low and uncertain rainfall and limited irrigation facilities. About four-
fifths of the sown area is under shallow red/white soils. The problematic soils occupy
only 5,450 ha but nearly 35,000 ha have the problem of salinity requiring soil
reclamation measures. About one-eighth of the net sown area is irrigated but the
percentage of the gross sown area irrigated is slightly higher at one-seventh of the
gross sown area.

Strengths

The strength of agricultural enterprises in Mahabubnagar district is its rich

endowment of labor. The labor force is hard working with diverse skills. Labor
intensive enterprises can be taken-up in large parts of the district. In fact, labor from
this district migrates to urban areas and far-off rural areas in search of work with
amazing regularity. The exodus of the labor is monumental during the drought years.
The agriculture in the district is fairly diversified with horticultural activities gaining
ground in the recent years. Nearly one-fourth of the cropped area is under black soils
where many crops are reporting high yields. There are good opportunities for
introducing micro-irrigation in the district and it can raise the production efficiency of
limited irrigation resources available in the district. The district is quite close to

34
Hyderabad city on one side and Kurnool town on the other. This proximity to markets
and existence of well drained light soils are leading to a spurt of interest in taking-up
horticultural enterprises in the district. A wide range of horticultural crops can be
grown in the district.

Weaknesses
There are many weaknesses confronting agriculture in the district. Light soils
account for three-fourths of the total sown area. The rainfall is low and erratic with
high variability. The organic matter content of the soil has been depleted with the
farmers applying only chemical fertilizers and very little organic manures for several
decades. In many areas, soil erosion still takes place unabatedly. Even the irrigation
tanks and wells are functional only during good rainfall years. In three out of five
years, many tanks do not get filled-up and the command area of the wells gets
drastically reduced for want of adequate recharge of the ground water. In many rain
fed areas, the crop yields are very low and uneconomical. Some of the farmers are
keeping some of their rain fed lands fallow. As farming is unable to sustain them
economically, many farmers are seeking livelihood opportunities in service and
business sectors. The phenomenon of absentee landlordism is leading to less care
and attention on the crop cultivation. Wherever irrigation facilities are there, farmers
prefer to plant horticultural and agro-forestry plants to minimize the dependence on
labor and to reduce the management time required for field crops. Quite a good
number of farmers in the district have committed suicides due to mounting debt and
hardships. Both the farmers as well as the agricultural laborers are increasingly
getting disenchanted with agro-based enterprises in the district. Low and uncertain
rainfall and depleting water tables are acting as constraints to horticultural
development in the district. There is a competing demand for land from the
industries, which is taking away considerable chunk of land and water resources.
Since many of the farmers belong to small and marginal category, they are unable to
wait till the horticultural crops generate income. These weaknesses are constraining
the development of horticulture in the district.

35
Opportunities

There are some new opportunities thrown open in the recent years. The present
government is laying a great emphasis on expanding the irrigation facilities by
taking-up many major and minor irrigation projects. As and when these irrigation
projects are completed, the irrigation coverage will improve and would lend stability
to crop production in the district. In the recent years, the land prices are going-up at
a rapid pace. Some farmers are selling away their lands and moving out of
agriculture. Other farmers are enthused to invest more on agricultural development
because of their confidence that the land values will go-up further. The Prime
Ministers relief package has provided some relief to the farmers as the interest
arrears, which accrued on their loans, were written-off to some extent. The National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is providing succor to the agricultural
labor by providing 100 days of gainful employment to all those who need working
opportunities. This may reduce the labor migration considerably. The widening of the
National Highway and construction of the International Airport at Shamshabad would
help in faster movement of perishables and in exploring export opportunities. There
is a scope for multinational and national investors investing on small-scale industries
and on infrastructure like cold storages, packing houses etc as this area is close to
markets and International Airport.

Threats

There are new threats on the horizon for the viability of agriculture in the district. The
operation of NREGA scheme is driving-up the labor wages impacting the viability of
agriculture adversely. The globalization of markets has caused a dampening effect
on the output prices and the costs of production are racing ahead much faster than
the output prices. The gains from technology have tapered-off reducing the scope of
bridging the yield gaps. The ground water table is fast depleting than the recharge
due to over exploitation in most parts of the district. The budgetary allocations for the
development of watersheds have slimmed down due to the emphasis of present
government on the expansion of irrigation facilities. The combined effect of all these
emerging threats may further marginalize rain fed agriculture. Rain fed agriculture
being the fort of Mahabubnagar district; the gains from irrigation may not be able to

36
offset the losses sustained in the rain fed agriculture of the district. Presently, farmers
are agitating for remunerative agricultural prices without which agriculture may not
sustain the livelihoods of the farmers. As the land prices go-up, investors may find it
difficult to establish processing industries, particularly in the Northern part of the
district. Frequent droughts may motivate some of the labor force to migrate
permanently out of the district.

3.3 Addressing issues emerging out of the analysis

Certain weaknesses are inherent with the agriculture in the district. The occurrence
of light soils in about three-fourths of the area imposes limits on the productivity of
crops. But the process of land degradation can be corrected by taking up suitable
soil and water management practices. The government should invest in soil and
water conservation practices in the community lands, while individual farmers should
invest on these measures with in their property boundaries. Similarly, the organic
matter content of the soils can be improved by sustained investments on green
mauring and other organic farming practices. Light soils will be suitable for
horticultural crops if they are provided with good irrigation facilities. Good drainage
available in case of light soils will be conducive to the growth of horticultural crops.
The potential of the black soils available in about one-fourth of the area in the district
should be capitalized to produce two or more crops under irrigation and one or two
crops under rainfed conditions. The proximity to capital city can be fully exploited for
the cultivation of vegetables and flowers. The vast reservoirs and rivers have not
been fully utilized for fish rearing. They can be tapped through stocking of fish seed
and through better management of fish culture in the entire water spread areas in the
district. Similarly, sericulture can be promoted in a limited way to supply silk to the
weavers who have a good presence in Gadwal, Kothakota and Narayanapet areas.

3.4 Sectoral / Regional growth drivers of the district

Besides making use of opportunities available in the crop sector, a concerted effort is
needed to harness the potential for the development of horticulture, fisheries,
sericulture, dairy, small ruminants, rural industries etc should be maximized. All of
them can be the growth drivers in the district. Area under horticulture is increasing in

37
the district. Due to fast growth of Hyderbad city, Rangareddy district is developing in
to a real estate hub. Most of the area under vegetables in Rangareddy district is
getting converted in to residential area. The neighbouring Mahabubnagar district has
ample scope to expand vegetable cultivation to supply to the growing demand in
Hyderabad. Similarly, the prospects for floriculture and fruit orchards have also
brightened. The only limitation is irrigation water. The rice area has to be replaced
with the cultivation of horticultural crops as they are more remunerative than rice
farming. The meat prices are increasing and there is scope to increase the number
of sheep and goats in the district due to the availability of culturable waste and
current fallows. There is also good scope for expanding milk production and fish
production in the district. Poultry industry is also poised to grow fast because of
conversion of poultry farms in Rangareddy district in to real estate ventures. The
enterprenuers may opt to establish poultry units in Mahabubnagar district. With more
surface irrigation projects, the water spread area is increasing in the district and it
can be used for fish production. Sericulture has a potential to grow in selected
pockets. Gadwal, Kothakota and Narayanapet are known centers for textile and silk
sarees. The processing activities can intensify in the district and hence, there is good
scope for the development of handlooms and textiles in the district. A few special
economic zones have been sanctioned and they can accelerate the industrialization,
particularly in Pharma and IT sectors. They is a good scope for setting up small scale
industries to service the larger industrial and service sector projects. Heightened
industrial activity will increase demand for agricultural products and it may induce
enterprenuers to make investments in agriculture and allied sectors.

38
 Chapter IV
Development of Agricultural Sector

4.1 Introduction

The performance of crop sector has been quite disappointing in the recent past.
While continuous droughts are responsible to this plight, the weaknesses of the
quality of resources can be rectified through targeted investments in the sector. The
improving the quality of land and water, it is possible to make a big impact on the
productivity of crops. Investments have been quite scanty in the district for the
development of crop sector. The Jalayagnam program holds promise to increase
irrigation facilities in a substantial way. The opportunities for conjunctive use of
surface and groundwater can be fully capitalized by making investments for ground
water exploration in the tail end areas of the project ayacuts.

4.2 Land use

The area under forest was about 14.0 % of the geographical area in the district.
Kalwakurthy and Manopod ADA circles did not have any forest area. It is
concentrated in Atmakur ADA circle, distantly followed by Narayanapet ADA circle.
The current fallow accounted for as much as 25.8 % of the geographical area in
2005-06. It reflects low fertility of soils and non-viability of farming. Achampet and
Kalwakurthy ADA circles have big concentration of current fallows. Added to this is
another 5.9 per cent area, which is under permanent fallow. 5.5% of the area is
under barren and uncultivable land, while another 4.1% area is under non-
agricultural use. Only 1.3% of the area was under permanent pastures. Thus, only
42% of the geographical area was sown to crops. The cropping intensity was quite
low at 109 per cent. Kodangal and Narayanapet ADA circles have the highest net
sown area.

The striking feature of land use in Mahabubnagar district is the wide spread area
under current fallows and other fallows. They, together, account for nearly one-third
of the geographical area in the district. This area can either be brought under crops
by improving fertility or can be put under plantations like sima rouba, pongamia etc.

39
4.3 Soil health

Between 2001-02 and 2006-07, 119293 soil samples were analyzed (table 12). The
number of samples analyzed reached a peak in 2003-04 but has shown a declining
trend after that. 58.5% of the soil samples analyzed had neutral reaction. Only 3% of
the samples showed acidic reaction. The remaining 38.5 per cent of the samples
exhibited alkaline reaction which is a common feature in the low rainfall areas. This
underlines the importance of measures to reduce soil alkalinity in the district. 98.4
per cent of the samples conducted showed low electrical conductivity. Only 1.4 per
cent of the samples had medium electrical conductivity and the remaining 0.2 per
cent of the samples has shown high electrical conductivity. Since the predominant
proportion of samples did not have any problem on the count of electrical
conductivity, the soils are safe from that perspective. A overwhelming 61 per cent of
samples had low organic matter content. 20.9 % of the samples have medium level
of organic matter content in them. Only 18.3 per cent of the samples reported high
levels of organic carbon content in the soils of Mahabubnagar district. The samples
were not analyzed for Nitrogen content. With respect to available phosphorous, one
half of the samples showed low levels of it. 23.5 % of the samples had medium
levels of available phosphorous in them. The remaining 26.5 % of samples showed
high levels of available phosphorous in them. The analysis for available potash
revealed that 32% of the samples had low content of it. 35.8% of the samples
displayed medium levels of available potash. The remaining 32.1% of the samples
had high levels of available potash. Thus, the soil analysis has brought out that a
good proportion of these soils have alkaline reaction but generally free from high salt
content as indicated by low electrical conductivity. Over three fifths of the samples
had low organic matter content and phosphorous and potash levels were low in 50%
and 32% of the soils respectively.

During the three years, 2004-05 to 2006-07, 4520 soil samples were analyzed for
zinc content (table 13). In all these soil samples, the availability of zinc was sufficient
indicating no major deficiency of zinc. However, the soil samples were not analyzed
for other micro nutrients like copper, iron and manganese.

40
During the XI plan period, soil testing will be carried out in all the 1350 villages in the
district (table 14). A total of 35840 soil, water and leaf samples will be drawn and
tested. The bulk of these samples (32000) will be subjected to general soil analysis.
1280 samples will be drawn for testing the micro-nutrient status in the soils. 640
samples each will be subjected to special soil analysis and soil survey purposes. 640
water samples and an equal number of tissue samples will also be analyzed.

There are five soil testing laboratories in the district, out of which four are in the
private sector (table 15). The lone soil testing laboratory in the government sector
has an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) with the help of which the
department can analyze 12000 samples per year. But, during 2006-07, 10532
samples were analyzed, indicating a capacity utilization of 87.8%. The four soil
testing laboratories in the private sector together has a capacity of analyzing 10,000
soil samples per year. They do not have sophisticated equipment like AAS. They
could analyze only 2548 samples in 2006-07, indicating a capacity utilization of only
25.5%.

4.4 Water resources and management

Rivers

The Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers drain Mahabubnagar district. The Krishna river
enters the district at Krishna village of Maganoor Mandal from Karnataka state. It
runs in a south easterly direction through Atmakur, Kothakota, Pebbair,
Weepangandla, Kollapur, Gadwal and Dharoor Mandals and flows into Srisailam
Reservoir. The projects across this river are the Priyadarshini Jurala Project and
Srisailam project (left bank). The river Tungabhadra enters the district at Alampur
Mandal. It flows easterly through Alampur mandal and then enters Kurnool District.

Irrigation
Only 11.9 per cent of the gross cropped area in the district receives the support of
irrigation. Irrigation by canals from projects on Krishna and Tungabhadra is
concentrated in the ADA circles of Gadwal, Wanaparthy, Atmakur, Manopad and
Kollapur. These canals have a share of only 17.7 per cent in the total irrigated area

41
of the district. Tank irrigation is concentrated in Wanaparthy, Gadwal, Atmakur,
Narayanapet and Kodangal ADA circles. They have a share of 18.7 per cent in the
total irrigated area in the district. The open wells are virtually non-functional in any
part of the district. Tube/bore wells are the main sources of irrigation in the district.
They account for 61.4 per cent of the irrigated area in the district. The data on the
number of tube/bore wells were not available for ADA circles other than Atmakur. But
it is obvious that Gadwal ADA circle which leads in well irrigation followed by Atmakur
and Wanaparthy. Bijinapally, Amangal and Nagarkurnool ADA circles have very little
area under well irrigation. Lift irrigation is accessible only to some areas in Atmakur
ADA circle. Among all the ADA circles, Gadwal, Wanaparthy and Atmakur ADA
circles have more than 10% area under irrigation. The irrigation percentage is lowest
in Bijinapally Amangal and Nagarkurnool ADA circles.

Water analysis and quality

During the last eight years, 1921 water samples were analyzed (table 16). About
63.9 % of the samples were categorized as moderately unsafe for irrigation. About
24.7% samples were categorized as moderately safe. Nearly 8.8 % of the samples
fell in the category of unsafe. Only 2.6% of the samples had permissible limits of
salts. Thus, the over all status of irrigation water is not satisfactory and it should be
used for irrigation carefully and the soil samples need to be checked up once in two
years for the build up of salts in the soil due to bad quality irrigation water.

In 2006-07, 679 medium irrigation tanks and 5374 panchayat raj tanks were
estimated to exist in Mahabubnagar district (table 17). If all these tanks get filled up,
they will have a potential ayacut of 101480 ha. These tanks need to be maintained
well through periodic de-silting. In 2007-08, 212 will be repaired with an investment
of Rs.3220 lakh. In the next three years, 260 tanks will be repaired with the same
budget as in the first year. The target for tank repairs is lowered to 253 at an
investment of Rs.2905 lakh in 2011-12. The total investment on medium irrigation
tanks in the next five years is estimated at Rs.11200 lakh, while that investment
required for panchayat raj tanks is estimated at Rs.4585 lakh, bringing the total
investment over the next five years to Rs.15785 lakh.

42
4.5 Major crops and varieties in the district

The cropping pattern of the district differs with the farming situation. The following
are the major cropping patterns existing in the district:

Season Condition Cropping pattern

a. Red gram
b. Groundnut
c. Cotton
Rainfed d. Castor
e. Maize
Kharif f. Sunflower
g. Jowar
a. Paddy
Irrigated b. Cotton
c. Groundnut
a. Jowar
Rainfed b. Bengal gram
c. Sunflower.
Rabi
Paddy- Vegetables
Irrigated
Groundnut

The normal area cultivated in the district under different crop aggregates in the two
seasons is given below:

87 per cent of the gross sown area is under field crops (table 18). Maize and castor
occupy 16 per cent each of the area under field crops, followed by sorghum (13.5%),
ground nut (12.2%) and rice (11.2%). Red gram (7.8%), cotton (5.6%), sunflower
(5.2%), green gram (5.0%) and bengal gram (3.9%) are the other important field
crops grown in the district.

Rice is the major crop grown under irrigation in the kharif season (table 19). All the
rice area in the district is irrigated. The average productivity of rice is 28.7 qtls per ha
and is less than state average. Besides rice, 5.4 per cent of green gram area and
12.3 per cent of cotton area was irrigated. But, the response to irrigation has been
quite less. The increase in yield of green gram and cotton due to irrigation was only
1.8 and 1.8 qtls per ha respectively. All other crops are grown under rainfed
condition. Castor and maize are the dominant crops under rain fed conditions with
the average yields of 7.7 and 35.0 qtls per ha respectively. Jowar, red gram and

43
ground nut are the other major rain fed crops. Green gram, sunflower and black
gram are the other crops grown under rainfed condition in the district. In general, the
crop yields are quite low in the district.

The area under rice during the rabi season was only about one fourth of that in kharif
season (table 20). The yield of rice in rabi season was much lower than that in kharif
season due to water scarcity. The bulk of irrigated area was under ground nut and
sunflower during the rabi season. Yet, their yields were lower at 11.7 and 5.2 qtls/ha.
Bengal gram and sorghum were grown as rainfed crops on the stored moisture
during the rabi season. The yield of bengal gram was quite high, while the yield of
rabi sorghum was moderate.

Trends in area, production and productivity

The area increase in rice is mainly dependent on the timely receipt of rainfall in the
monsoon season. Maximum area was covered by rice was during 2005-06 season
i.e.1.16 lakh ha which again fell to 82 thousand ha during 2006-07. The other major
crops are maize, groundnut and sunflower, which are replacing jowar due to good
returns and favorable market conditions (table 21)

Fig 5 AREA AND PRODUCTION OF CROPS DURING

2006-07
LAK

UNI

AREA PRODUCTION
TS
H

3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
am

ut
am

er
m

dn
r

n
w
Be ar

e
gr

ra

to
gr
e

to
z
lo

un
w
ic

al

as
g

ai
en

ot
nf
R

Jo

ed
ng

M
ro
C

C
re

Su
R

G
G

CROPS

44
Table 22 projects the figures of area, production and productivity for the five year
period of 2007-08 to 2011-12 under the important crops in Mahabubnagar district.
While the productivity is projected to increase of all crops, the area under some
crops like paddy, castor, maize and sunflower are projected to go up. But the areas
of bengal gram, green gram and black gram are projected to remain stable over the
period of five years. The area under coarse grains like jowar, bajra and ragi and
cotton are projected to go down over the five years period. Overall, the paddy
production is projected to go up by 35.4 per cent. Cotton production is projected to
go up by 9.4 per cent despite decline in the area under the crop. The production of
castor is expected to go up by 42.2 per cent over the five years period. The jowar
production is projected to go up by 26.5 per cent despite reduction in the area under
the crop. But, of all the crops, the best performance in terms of increased production
is reserved for maize whose production is projected to go up by 89.4 per cent.
Ground nut production is projected to go up by 40.4 per cent in the five years period.
The production of sunflower is also expected to go up by the same rate as in case of
ground nut. Even in case of other crops like bajra, ragi, bengal gram, green gram
and black gram the production levels will improve at least marginally due to the yield
impact.

Fig 6 TOTAL AREA (HA)

6 2
11
% %
5 %
%

12 16
% %

0
%

16
% 14
%
1
8 4 0%
5 0 %
% %
% %

Rice Maize Jowar

Bajra Ragi Bengalgra
Blackgram Greengra m
Redgram
Castor m
Sesamum Groundnut
Sunflower Cotton Other Agril crops

4.6 Input management

45
The seed replacement rate has to be increased to improve the productivity of crops
in the district. Table 23 summarizes the plans to improve the seed replacement rates
in case of different crops grown in the district. In case of maize, cotton and
sunflower, where farmers are already using hybrid varieties of seeds, the seed
replacement rates are already 100%. The seed requirements in these crops will
remain stable at 15093 qtls per year in case of maize, cotton; at 895 qtls per year in
case of cotton; and 9080 qtls per year in case of sunflower. In case of paddy, the
seed requirement is projected to go up from 54234 qtls in 2007-08 to 83576 qtls in
2011-12 due to increase of seed replacement rate from 65% to 100%. Similarly, the
seed requirements in case of red gram, bengal gram, sorghum, bajra, green gram,
ground nut and castor are projected to go up due to higher seed replacement rates
expected to materialize in successive years.

There are two seed farms, one at Korvipadu in Manopad mandal and the other at
Julikal in Waddepalli mandal (table 24). The total area in these two farms is 44.6 ha.
Out of which, 36.8 ha is cultivable land. The farms have one farm pond and two
Taiwan sprayers. Each of these farms have one seed processing plant and storage
capacity of 50 tons each.

During 2006-07, 104 qtls of bengal gram (JG-11) and 20 qtls of red gram seed were
produced at Korvipadu seed farm (table 25). The Julikal seed farm produced 68 qtls
of red gram and 12 qtls of castor seed. Over the next five years, targets are set for
producing bengal gram and red gram seed at Korvipadu seed farm and red gram,
castor and jowar seeds at Jullikal seed farm. While the target for sorghum seed is
constant over the years, the target for other crop seeds was increased over the
years.

Fig 7 Consumption of Nitrogen

46
Fig 8 Consumption of Phosphorous

Fig 9 Consumption of Potash

It is estimated that the total N, P, K use in Mahabubnagar ADA circle is lowest at

187.5 kg per ha (table 27). At the other extreme, the use of N, P and K was the
highest at 235 kg per ha in Shadnagar ADA circle. The fertilizer use in all other ADA
circles ranges between these two extremes.

In 2006-07, the total use of urea in the district was estimated at 69991 tons (table
28). In order to achieve higher crop yields, the requirement of urea is projected to go

47
up to 122369 tons in 2011-12. It represents a 75% increase over the period of five
years. The highest quantity of urea is projected to be used in Narayanapet ADA
circle, followed by Kodangal ADA circle. The lowest use of urea will continue to be in
Amangal and Bijinapally ADA circles.

Just as in case of urea, the use of Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) is expected to go

up by 57.4 per cent between 2007-08 and 2011-12 (table 29). The highest demand
for DAP will come from Narayanapet and Kodangal ADA circles, while Amangal and
Bijinapally ADA circles will require the lowest quantity of DAP.

In 2006-07, the use of Muriate of Potash (MOP) in Mahabubnagar district was

estimated at 852 tons (table 30). Between 2006-07 and 2011-12, the use of MOP is
expected to go up by 75%. Just as in case of urea and DAP, the maximum demand
for MOP will come from Narayanapet and Kodangal ADA circles, while the lowest
demand will come from Amangal and Bijinapally ADA circles.

The use of Single Super Phosphate (SSP) in Mahabubnagar district was estimated
at 570 tons in 2006-07 (table 31). Its use is also expected to go up by 75% between
2006-07 and 2011-12. Different types of complexes are being used in the district and
their total usage in 2006-07 was estimated at 37180 tons. Their usage also is
projected to go up by 75% between 2006-07 and 2011-12. In case of SSP and
complexes also, the maximum usage will be in Narayanapet and Kodangal ADA
circles and the minimum usage will continue to be in Amangal and Bijinapally.

The total usage of fertilizer in 2006-07 was estimated at 120418 tons in

Mahabubnagar district (table 32). It is projected to reach 210533 tons by 2011-12
which implies an increase of 75% over the six years period. As the fertilizer use is
expected to go up uniformly across ADA circles and fertilizer categories, the relative
ranking of ADA circles in fertilizer consumption would remain unchanged.

4.7 Farm mechanization/farm equipments

48
At present, 930 farmers are estimated to be having farm implements while another
1976 farmers are estimated to be possessing farm equipments (table 33).
Wanaparthy ADA circle is having the maximum number of farm implements and
equipments. It is followed by Jadcherla, Gadwal Mahabubnagar, Shadnagar and
Atmakur ADA circles. On the other hand, Bijinapally and Narayanapet ADA circles
are lagging behind in farm mechanization.

During the XI plan period, 4195 farm equipment and implements will be supplied
every year to the farmers at a subsidy of Rs.475 lakh (table 34). The total investment
during the XI plan period for supplying 20975 farm equipment is estimated at
Rs.2375 lakh. The major types of farm machinery which will be supplied are multi-
crop thresher, power sprayers, tractor and bullock drawn equipments etc. The
highest number of 1600 units of farm equipment will be supplied in Wanaparthy ADA
circle while Bijinapally ADA circle will receive only 1050 units of farm equipment.

4.8 Service centers in the district

At present, there are input suppliers in every ADA circle of the district (table 35). Both
the branches of AP AGROS and private dealers are operating in every ADA circle.
They are dealing with farm inputs like seed and fertilizer and farm equipments and
machinery. They are not dealing with irrigation equipment and are not providing any
consultancy or diagnostic services.

4.9 Constraint analysis

The yields of rice, jowar, cotton and sunflower in the district are lower than the
average yields of the same crops at the state level (table 36). But in case of castor,
red gram, ground nut, bengal gram and green gram, the average yields of the district
are higher than those at the state level. But the district average yields are much
lower than those obtained in front line demonstrations by 8 (Green gram) to 25%
(Sunflower). The major reasons for the yield gaps were the use of local varieties,
non-adoption of seed treatment, IPM and INM technologies, incidence of pests and
diseases etc. If these improved technologies are followed, there is a scope to reduce
the yield gap and realize higher yields.

49
Yield gaps of crops in different farming situations
In each farming situation, information was collected on the size of the productivity
gap (the difference between existing yield and potential yield). Critical intervention
needed in terms of inputs and practices for bridging the yield gap were identified in
each farming situation.

Yield gaps by crop

Rice

Rice is grown in both kharif and rabi seasons. Area during rabi (18065 ha) is much
lower than in kharif (64410 ha). It is grown in nine farming situations. The present
productivity of rice in different situations ranged from 2.40 to 2.65 tons/ha in kharif
and from 2.50 to 2.86 tons/ha in rabi. The total production potential of rice in the
district is 3.7 lakh tons, while actual production is 2.69 lakh tons. The production gap
is 1.01 lakh tons, out of which 0.68 lakh tons gap is in kharif and 0.33 lakh tons gap
is in rabi.

Fig 10 Yield gap analysis Paddy

Red gram

Red gram is grown during kharif only. It is grown mainly under two farming
situations. The area under red gram is 61185 ha. The yield gap is 505 kg /ha and
the total production gap is estimated at 0.757 lakh tons.

Fig 11 Yield gap analysis Red gram

50
Green gram
Green gram is grown in kharif season only. It is also grown under two farming
situations only. The yield gap in green gram is 45.5kg/ha and total production gap is
estimated at 0.184 lakh tons.
Fig 12 Yield gap analysis Green gram

Bengal gram
Bengal gram is the major rabi pulse crop in the district. It is grown in an extent of
11789 ha. It is also confined to two farming situations. The gap in productivity is 365
kg/ha and the production gap is estimated at 0.044 lakh tones .
Fig 13 Yield gap analysis Bengal gram

Ground nut

51
Groundnut is the major oilseed crop grown in both kharif and rabi seasons. It is
raised under four farming situations. The yield gap identified in case of ground nut is
500-650 kg/ha in kharif and 500-600 kg/ha in rabi. The total production gap is
estimated at 0.51 lakh tones, out of which 0.27 lakh tons gap is in kharif and 0.24
lakh tons gap is in rabi.

Fig 14 Yield gap analysis Ground nut

Sunflower

Sunflower is grown in both kharif and rabi seasons. It is grown in five farming
situations. The productivity gap identified in kharif ranged between 250 and 525
kg/ha and in rabi it ranged between 150 and 400 kg/ha under different situations.
The production gap is 0.069 lakh tons in kharif and 0.078 lakh tons in rabi with the
total gap adding up to 0.147 lakh tons.

Fig 15 Yield gap analysis sunflower

Castor

52
Castor is mainly grown in kharif season and in only one farming situation. The yield
gap identified is 525 kg/ha and the production gap is 0.66 lakh tons.

Fig 16 Yield gap analysis Castor

Constraints to agricultural production in different farming situations

The constraints due to which productivity gaps occur in major crops are analyzed.
The common constraints affecting the crop productivity are highly eroded and low
fertile soils, lack of assured irrigation facility, lack of water reach to tail end areas, low
degree of farm mechanization and inadequate extension. The following are crop
specific constraints identified for low productivity.

Rice

The problem in rice is low plant density as optimum plant population is not
maintained. Indiscriminate use of Nitrogenous fertilizers and top dressing of complex
fertilizers containing Phosphorous is another issue which is drastically affecting the
soil health and impacting the economic condition of farmers.
Among micronutrients, Zinc deficiency is the common limiting factor for the
productivity.
Non-adoption of green manure crop in kharif and legumes in paddy fallows is
affecting the soil fertility.
Non-adoption of seed treatment.
Delayed transplantation
Pulses

53
 Non-adoption of location specific and high yielding varieties
Majority of the farmers are not practicing seed treatment to control wilt
disease
Lack of plant protection measures
Low application of phosphorus fertilizers
Mono-cropping of red gram with out rotation is resulting in the development of
pest and disease complex and causing yield reduction
Oilseeds

Non-adoption of improved varieties

Non-adoption of seed treatment
Low usage of gypsum in ground nut
Poor management of stem and bud necrosis
Incidence of Botrytis in castor at spike formation stage affecting the castor
yields.

Processing/storage/marketing gaps

There are no rural godowns or cold storages for storing the agricultural produce in
the district (table 37). There are 17 agricultural markets and 6 sub-markets in the
district. Gadwal, Wanaparthy, Narayanapet and Atmakur ADA circles have two main
markets each. All other ADA circles other than Kodangal and Bijinapally are served
by one main market each. There are no main markets in Kodangal ADA circle but it
is served by two sub markets. In case of Bijinapally, there are neither main markets
nor sub-markets to provide marketing services to the farmers.

Neither there are any farm level storage structures till now, nor there any plans to
establish them in the next five years (table 38). Since it is not a major onion growing
area, the need for onion storage structures is not felt. Similarly, because of the
strategic location of the district close to Hyderabad and Kurnool markets, the need
for establishing zero energy chambers is not visualized.

Existing institutional mechanism in the government sector

54
The Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) was registered on 28-2-
2007 (table 39). The governing body consists of 10 official and 9 non-official
members. 15 block technology teams are constituted by involving seven
departments. The joint director of agriculture, Mahabubnagar is responsible for
implementing the ATMA activities.

Under the convergence scheme of ATMA, 49 training programs to farmers were

targeted and implemented (table 40). Similarly, 26 training programs to extension
functionaries were implemented as per the target. 1758 demonstrations were
conducted by different departments to meet the target set for them. Seven tours are
organized to the farmers as per the target. Six publicity materials were also released
as per the target. Only one exhibition targeted by the agricultural department was not
organized. Although no targets were set for forming farmer groups, 1657 groups
were formed and efforts were made to build their capacities. While agricultural
department organized most of the demonstrations, training to farmers and
preparation of publicity materials, staff training and organization of farmers tours
were shared by all the departments. Animal husbandry and Horticulture departments
have taken a lead over the agricultural department in the formation of farmers
groups and in building their capacity.

No crop diversification activities are planned in the XI plan by the officials of

agriculture and allied departments in Mahabubnagar district (table 41).

4.10 Recommended interventions for the district with detailed action plan and
costs
Certain interventions are identified to bridge yield gaps. There is a possibility of
increasing production by 30% in rice and by 25% to 30% in pulses and oilseeds. This
additional production can be achieved by two fold interventions:

Bringing additional area under irrigation through creation of new irrigation

sources and through conjunctive use of water by installation of bore wells in
command areas

55
 By bridging the technological and agronomic gaps mainly focusing on the
improvement of soil nutrient status

Technological and Agronomic gaps

The major technological and agronomic gaps are:

Soils are highly eroded, degraded and are of low fertility
Excessive application of N fertilizer, ignoring application of P
Due to imbalanced fertilization, the physical status of soil is affected
Plant protection measures taken up are not as per recommendations
Mechanization is not yet popular and shortage of labor is affecting the farm
operations
The existing extension staff is not sufficient to cover all the
Villages

1. Gypsum for reclamation of problematic soils and as a nutrition supplement

to Ground nut

One of the major causes for low productivity is soil salinity/alkalinity in the district. To
improve the soil condition, reclamation of these soils by application of soil
amendment is one of the alternatives. The major soil amendment proposed is
gypsum. In Mahabubnagar district, the affected area by saline and alkaline
conditions is increasing every year. Hence gypsum is required and the same is
proposed to be supplied on 50% subsidy (table 42).

Calcium and sulphur are the two nutrients, which can increase the yields of oilseeds,
especially Ground nut. In order to supply the said nutrients at less cost, application of
gypsum is essential for increasing the quality and oil content of ground nut. It is
proposed to supply a quantity of 212080 Mts of gypsum on subsidy with an outlay of
Rs. 2120.80 lakhs over a period of five years. Out of this, Rs.555 lakh is provided to
Mahabubnagar district for reclaiming 7400 ha in the approved plan of RKVY. The
remaining amount has to be mobilized from other sources and schemes. The
detailed project analysis is given in annexure tables A.1& A.2)

It was estimated that 20,000 ha area is facing the problem of salinity or alkalinity in
the district (table 43). Till 2006-07, 8400 ha area was treated with gypsum for

56
reclamation or was green manured to reclaim the soils. The remaining 11600 ha will
be treated over the next five years to get over the problem of salinity or alkalinity. In
the first four years, 2007-08 to 2010-11, 2500 ha will be brought under both green
manuring and gypsum application every year. The balance of 1600 ha will be treated
with green manuring and gypsum application in 2011-2012. As the problem is not
very severe, there is no plan to build open or closed drains. Since 7400 ha will be
covered under the RKVY for reclamation of saline/alkali soils.

2. Scaling up of green manure seed supply

To get high yields by supplying major nutrients like N, P and K farmers are applying
more quantities of Chemical fertilizers in their fields, due to which soil health is
deteriorating very fast. The following statement shows that the use of chemical
fertilizers is increasing year after year, leading to deterioration of soil health (table
44).

Due to non-availability of sufficient quantities of organic material, farmers are unable

to apply organic matter to the soil and are mainly depending on chemical fertilizers in
rice crop. The soil health can be improved by adopting green manuring, which will
build up soil health, there by increasing productivity, besides reducing cost of
cultivation.

Rice crop is grown in 82475 ha in a year. For this area, 5000 qtls of green manure
seed is required. Govt. is already distributing 1200 qtls. of green manure seed by
incurring an expenditure of Rs. 24.00 lakhs per year for enriching the soil in an
area of 2400 ha.

In order to improve the soil health, it is proposed to supply 19000 qtls. of various
green manure crop seeds to the farmers on 50% subsidy with a financial out lay of
Rs. 380.00 lakhs in 5 years. But, no financial allocation was made for the supply of
green manure seed in Mahabubnagar district in the approved plan of RKVY. So,
resources have to be found for this activity in Mahabubnagar district from other
sources and schemes.The detailed project analysis is presented in annexure table
A.3

57
3. Zinc sulphate to paddy, oilseeds & pulses

Zinc deficiency is one of the major limiting factors in rice production. In order to
correct the deficiency, Department is supplying 109 tons of Zinc sulphate to the rice
farmers on 50% subsidy by incurring an expenditure of Rs. 15.61 lakhs per year,
covering 2180 ha (table 45).

In order to correct Zinc deficiency in an area of 40940 ha, the required quantity of
Zinc sulphate is 2047 tons and the same is proposed to be supplied on 50% subsidy.
It amounts to Rs. 503.90 lakhs. But, no financial allocation was made for the supply
of zinc sulphate in Mahabubnagar district in the approved plan of RKVY. So,
resources have to be found for this activity in Mahabubnagar district from other
sources and schemes. The detailed project analysis is presented in annexure table
A.4.

4. Seed Management / Revolving funds

As you sow, so you reap is the age-old proverb. Hence to reap quality produce,
good seed is the critical input in crop production. Mahabubnagar district is mainly
dependent on rain fed crops such as jowar, red gram, maize, sunflower and castor.
The farmers are using their own seed for sowing in case of rice, jowar and pulses
(varieties), where as in sunflower, castor and maize crops, farmers are depending on
government and private agencies for seed (table 46).

The seed supply by the Government agencies is only to the tune of 10-15% of total
requirement during the year 2006-07 in Mahabubnagar district. Seed Replacement
Rate (SRR) for 2007-08 is around 20 per cent in varieties. The projected SRR for the
coming 5 years is between 75 to 100 per cent for various crops. The variety wise
seed requirement and seed supply plan has been worked out.

During this year, as against the requirement of 99164 qtls of seeds (except Paddy
and Cotton), a quantity of only 22652 qtls seed of seed is supplied by the Agriculture
department, which accounts for only 23% of requirement of the district. During rabi
season also, 54398 qtls of seed is required (except Paddy) and the distribution of
seed is in progress. For paddy and cotton crop seeds, the farmers are depending on

58
private dealers. During kharif season, as against the requirement of 34967 qtls of
paddy seed, private dealers and agencies have supplied 21500 qtls and the seed
produced by Seed Village Scheme (SVS) is 6500 qtls. The balance quantity of 6967
qtls seed was met from farmers own produce.

To train farmers at mandal level in the methodology of seed production, the

government has introduced the Seed Village Scheme (SVS) by which sufficient
quantity of certified seed can be produced by multiplication of foundation seed to
ensure that good quality seed is available to farmers at reasonable cost. Foundation
seed will be supplied by authentic sources like ANGRAU, State Seed Farms, HACA
etc to the identified farmers on 50% subsidy. Each seed production unit comprises
of 50 farmers and 10 hectares area.

During Kharif 2007, this program is taken up in 1750 hectares for different crops. The
foundation seed was supplied to selected farmers on 50% subsidy. The certified
seed produced will be supplied to farmers at reasonable prices in the villages. During
rabi also, it is planned to organize the SVP in bengal gram, ground nut, jowar and
paddy crops in 660 ha area. To extend support to foundation seed production
program, it is proposed to provide revolving fund of Rs.192.00 lakh to all mandals @
Rs. 3.00 lakh per mandal. This amount may be utilized for procurement, processing,
bagging and distribution to farmers at mandal level.
In case of maize, cotton and sunflower, where farmers are already using hybrid
varieties of seeds, the seed replacement rates are already 100%. The seed
requirements in these crops will remain stable at 15093 qtls per year in case of
maize, cotton; at 895 qtls per year in case of cotton; and 9080 qtls per year in case
of sunflower. In case of paddy, the seed requirement is projected to go up from
54234 qtls in 2007-08 to 83576 qtls in 2011-12 due to increase of seed replacement
rate from 65% to 100%. Similarly, the seed requirements in case of red gram, bengal
gram, sorghum, bajra, green gram, ground nut and castor are projected to go up due
to higher seed replacement rates expected to materialize in successive years. A part
of the higher seed requirements will be met from the village seed production
program. The remaining quantities of seed will be produced both by the public and
private sector agencies.

59
No specific allocation was made for seed production activities in the district in the
approved plan of RKVY. However, the cost involved in the production of nucleus,
breeder, foundation and certified seeds in case of all the crops are estimated at
Rs.49232 lakh during the XI plan period. Mahabubnagar district is likely to get 5% of
this amount (Rs.2462 lakh) for the seed production activities.

5. Farmers Field Schools (FFS)

In order to educate farmers about bad effects of excessive use of chemical fertilizers
to increase yields and the use of organo-phosphorous compounds to control pests
and diseases, organization of Farmers Field Schools was found useful. The main
objective of Farmers Field School is to reduce cost of cultivation and to increase the
productivity by adopting the integrated crop management practices, duly
empowering the farmers to take economical decisions at their level (table 47). FFS
program is training the farmers from seed to seed in farmers fields. The size of each
FFS plot is 10 ha. Participant farmers are 30 in number. Inputs such as IPM Kits, bio-
agents (Trichoderma Viride, Pseudomonas fluorescence, Pheramone Traps), Bio-
pesticides (NPV, Neem Oil, BT), Micro-nutrients etc are supplied on subsidy to the
FFS farmers. In Mahabubnagar district, 216 numbers of FFS have been organized
on different crops as detailed below during kharif 2007.As a result of the organization
of the FFS program in the district during the last three years, the consumption of
technical grade pesticides was reduced considerably as stated below (table 48).

Fig 17 Pesticide Consumption in the district

200 187
175
154 155
150 118
Ts
M

105 104 105

100 77

50 22

0
1997- 1998- 1999- 2000- 2001- 2002- 2003- 2004- 2005- 2006-
98 99 2000 01 02 03 04 05 06 07
YEAR

Pesticide consumption in MTs

60
This measure will result in reduced cost of cultivation and increased yield of quality
produce. To extend this program, an amount of Rs. 320.13 lakhs is earmarked for
the five years period.

379 Farmers Field Schools (FFS) were organized in an equal number of villages
(table 50). Each FFS covered 10 ha area. The FFS are mainly aimed at reducing the
use of chemical pesticides. Despite this, the yields obtained under FFS were about
15% higher than those under normal management. Over the next five years also,
391 FFS will be organized in an equal number of villages every year.

Scheme for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP)

Community managed organic farming systems in rainfed areas

The total cropped area in Mahbubnagar is 7.23 lakh ha and there is a drastic
reduction in yields of majority of the crops in 2005-06 to 2006-07. When the yields
were compared for the last two years, red gram yield, which was 740 kg/ha in 2005-
06, came down to 208 kg/ha in 2006-07. The production of Maize in the district came
down from 3.56 lakh tons in 2005-06 to 2.07 lakh tons in 2006-07. Production of
groundnut was static for the last two years at 89,000 tons. Production of castor came
down from 0.79 lakh tons during 2005-06 to 0.55 lakh tons in 2006-07.

The major issues that need to be addressed are:

Falling productivity in the district

Decrease in fertility of soils

Low organic matter content in the soils

Lack of timely availability of seed in quality and quantity

Drought incidence, high groundwater usage

Pest and disease problems

The major pests and disease problems in Mahabubnagar are Sterility mosaic
disease and wilt disease in red gram, followed by Botrytis, capsule borer and Red

61
hairy caterpillar in castor crop. It was observed that few villages completely stopped
cultivating the red gram crop due to Sterility mosaic disease during 2005-06.

Existing efforts

The Non-pesticidal Management (NPM) program in Mahabubnagar started in the

year 2003-04 with 171 ha in 22 villages, later it expanded to 5 mandals in 95 villages
in 2004-05. In 2006-07 the program expanded to 6153 ha and in 2007-08 ultimately
it increased to 13424 ha. The impact of the program in 2005-06:

Fig 18 Impact of SERP programs

Cost reduction

In red gram the pest management cost was reduced to 50% (i.e., from Rs.
1729 to Rs. 865)
In Castor, the farmers saved Rs. 618 per ha. The small amount of savings is
due to the severe incidence of Botrytis problem
In Ground nut there is not much cost difference but there was no reduction in
the yield either
918 Q of neem procured at Rs. 2.00 per kg from local neem collectors by
MMS

62
 Employment was generated through processing the neem by 7 Neem
pulveriser units (about 500 qtls powder processed)

Strategies for next five years:

Focus on improving the productivity of the crops

Developing nearly 150 seed banks in 150 villages

Promoting 150 community managed resource centers

Focus on chenchu Tribal areas and improving their farming situation

Taking 150 villages towards organic at the end of 5 th year

Focus on reducing the incidence of Botryitis, RHC in castor, Sterlity

mosaic and Wilt in Redgram

Developing 750 farmer resource persons

Seed banks with paddy, Redgram, Castor, and other major crops

Promoting village level Dhal mills to process the dhal at the village level

Soil management and local resources

Custom hiring centers in all the villages

It is proposed to organize 256 groups to produce bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides

(table 51). Similarly, vermin-compost production will be extended to 1280 farmers.
640 farmers will produce bio-dynamic compost. Those who produce bio-pesticides
will use materials of plant origin. 640 farmers will be engaged in the production of
seed of different crops organically. All of them will be encouraged to go for organic
certification. To implement all these activities related to organic farming, the capital
requirements will be Rs.1082 lakh over a period of five years.

63
Demonstrations
The use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices is of recent origin (table 52).
Only 3790 ha was under IPM practices in the district. During 2006-07, 320
demonstrations were conducted covering an area of 3200 ha. Most of the IPM
demonstrations was carried out in case of red gram, rice, ground nut, castor, cotton,
maize and sunflower. Over the five years period under XI plan, it is proposed to
organize 690 demonstrations every year at a cost of Rs.179.6 lakh. The
demonstrations will be focused on the same crops mentioned above. The average
cost of demonstration works out to approximately Rs.26,000.

The Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) is as important as IPM (table 53). The
department of agriculture organized an equal number of demonstrations on INM as
they were on IPM during 2006-07. The demonstrations on INM are also proposed in
the same scale as in case of IPM over the next five years. The budget requirement
for the INM demonstrations is estimated to be the same at Rs.26000 per
demonstration. They will be organized in case of red gram, rice, ground nut, castor,
maize, sunflower and cotton.

Demonstrations on improved varieties were conducted in case of pulses and rice

during 2006-07 (table 54). The demonstrations on rice covered other components of
System of Rice Intensification (SRI) as well. In 2007-08 also, 3507 demonstrations
on pulses were proposed at a cost of Rs.90.85 lakh and 3000 demonstrations on rice
were proposed at a cost of Rs.30 lakh to cover all aspects of SRI. No targets were
set for varietal demonstrations in the next four years of XI plan.

Training

The agricultural department has plans to conduct a number of training programs

during the 11th plan period (table 55). There is a training institute available with the
department to conduct several types of training programs. There is a plan to
organize 88 training programs every year at a budget of Rs. 4.4 lakh on macro-
management and work plans over the next five years. Similarly, 50 training programs
are planned every year on ISOPOM program at a cost of Rs. 2.5 lakh. Under the
same scheme, an exposure visit is planned every year at a cost of Rs. 50,000. Five
exposure visits are proposed per year to the women farmers at a cost of Rs. 35,000.

64
Organic farming is an emerging area and it is planned to bring five groups under
organic certification every year at a cost of Rs. 1.85 lakh. Similarly, a training
program is proposed every year on WTO to create awareness among the farmers at
a cost of Rs. 11,000. Thus a total number of 750 training programs/exposure visits
are planned at a total cost of Rs. 48.55 lakh.

The agricultural department has a plan to train a total of 1600 staff over the five
years period to build capacity in them to implement different schemes proposed for
XI plan (table 56). The number of trainees is targeted at 250 in 2007-08 and
increased to 375 in 2011-12. It is proposed to develop four training halls with LCD
projectors, white boards, tables, chairs, screens and air conditioners needed for the
conduct of training programs. The non-recurring investment is estimated at Rs.40
lakh with a provision for Rs.10 lakh towards recurring cost every year. It is also
proposed to use the services of ten faculty members to implement these training
programs. Thus, it involves an investment of Rs.90 lakh during the XI plan to build
physical infrastructure and to train 1600 staff over a period of five years.

6. Intensifying mechanization

In the prevailing situation labor has become a costly input in the district and the
efficiency of labor is also low. This is contributing to the increased cost of cultivation
resulting in low returns to the farmers. Further, the farmers are unable to undertake
their field operations timely, especially in case of sowing, weeding and harvesting.
Hence mechanization can be an effective tool to overcome the above mentioned
problems in the district.

There is a heavy demand for farm implements in the district as the amount utilized
for supply of farm implements are increasing year after year as stated below (table
57). Therefore, it is proposed to supply 97100 farm implements to the small and
marginal farmers on 50% subsidy incurring a total amount of Rs. 5795.00 lakhs in
five years.

Besides supplying farm implements on subsidy, it is also proposed to establish 45

Custom Hiring Centres (CHC) in potential areas to make all the implements available
to the farmers. For establishing Custom Hiring Centres an incentive of 25% subsidy

65
on the cost of implements will be provided to the entrepreneurs and the total out lay
proposed is Rs. 562.50 lakh. Under the approved plan of RKVY an amount of
Rs.1819.76 lakh has been provided to Mahabubnagar district to supply 42320 farm
implements on subsidy. Besides this, an amount of Rs.375 lakh has been provided
for supporting 30 custom hiring centers in Mahabubnagar district. The remaining
funds required are to be arranged from other sources and schemes over the next
five years (table 58).

Proposed farm implements for irrigated areas:

1. Laser guided land leveler

2. Paddy transplanter

3. Mini Combine harvestor

4. Battery weeder

5. Paddy thresher

6. Automatic sugarcane planter

7. Sugarcane harvestor

8. Power tiller, etc

Proposed farm implements for rain fed areas:

1. Heavy duty tractor with sub-soiler and other attachments

2. Laser guided land leveler

3. Row-crop cultivator

4. Rotovator

5. Aeroblast sprayer

6. High clearance sprayer

7. Multi crop thresher

8. Maize de-husking cum sheller, etc

7. Diversification in rain fed areas

66
In traditional farming the farmers used to take up agriculture and allied activities
simultaneously to cover risks. In the present situation, farmers are taking up mono
cropping, mainly focusing on cash crops, which often are adversely affected due to
seasonal aberrations. Crop failures make the farmers paupers and they are forced to
migrate to towns and cities in search of employment.

In orders to change the mindset of farmers and make agriculture more profitable, the
areas un-suitable to the field crops can be diverted to plantations like Sima rouba in
rain fed areas and rocky terrain. To take-up diversification, an amount of Rs.12000
lakh is proposed to cover an area of one lakh ha in five years (table 59). Out of this,
an amount of Rs.4800 lakh was allocated to Mahabubnagar district for planting sima
rouba in 40,000 ha. The remaining amount of Rs.7200 lakh has to be mobilized from
other sources and schemes for supporting sima rouba plantations in 60,000 ha. The
detailed project analysis of sima rouba plantations is presented in annexure table
A.7.

8. Extension

Crop yields are mainly dependent on the adoption of latest technologies. In the
post-WTO scenario, transfer of latest technology is essential for quality produce. For
bridging the technology gaps, the extension is the basic tool.

a. Graduate A.Os and Technology and Service facilitators

To meet the aspirations and growing demands of the farmers, the Department is
unable to provide required personnel to transfer the technology. In order to over
come it, it is proposed to appoint one Agricultural Officer for 5000 ha area and
one Technology Facilitator for every 2500 ha area. In Mahabubnagar district, for
7.23 lakh ha crop area, 157 A.Os and 289 TFs are required. The existing
personnel in position are 64 A.Os and 100 TFs. The additional requirement of 93
A.Os and 189 TFs has to be met through new appointments.
b. Model farmers/Commodity Interest Group (CIG) Leaders
Besides Technology facilitators, it is also proposed to select Adarsha Rythus
(Model farmers/ CIG Leaders) for every 200-250 farm holdings from each village
by providing an honorarium of Rs. 1000/- per month and for duly imparting

67
 required training on all agriculture and allied subjects. They will act as a
coordinator between Government departments and farmers.
c. Strengthening of farmers organizations
Strengthening of farmers organizations, Rythu clubs and Rythu Mitra Groups
(RMGs) is also very much necessary to educate farmers about the latest
technologies, Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) and quality standards under
WTO. These organizations play an important role in increasing agricultural
production.
d. Support to public and private partnership:
Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) are functioning successfully in various sectors
of infrastructure development. The PPP model can be effectively introduced to
strengthen the existing extension services. Non- Governmental extension
functionaries such as NGOs, co-operatives, Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs),
input dealers etc can also be integrated into the extension system. Hence PPP in
extension needs to be given an impetus in the district. The ITC e-choupal model,
which supplies inputs, technical information and provides marketing support is
said to be a successful model in Madhya Pradesh and it can be replicated in all
the districts of the country through Agricultural Technology Management Agency
(ATMA). Social responsibility can also be ensured through PPP.

e. Mobility, training and other contingencies:

For effective extension services, it is very important to build the capacity of the
departmental personnel. For this purpose, some contingencies such as mobility,
trainings to model farmers, departmental officers, NGOs and mobility to the
trainers and scientists is very much needed.

Out of this, Mahabubnagar district was allocated Rs.1427.86 lakh to support the
recruitment of 94 agricultural graduates and 188 agricultural diploma holders under
the approved plan of RKVY (table 60). An additional amount of Rs.788.41 lakh was
also allocated to support 1609 model farmers for five years. For strengthening
farmers organizations, a provision of Rs.1000 lakh was made at the state level and
Mahabubnagar district can be expected to receive Rs.50 lakh. Similarly, Rs.1000
lakh was provided for supporting public-private partnership for the whole state. Out

68
of which, Mahabubnagar district can expect to receive Rs.50 lakh. An amount of
Rs.9047 lakh is provided for mobility, training and other contingencies. The district
can expect to get Rs.452 lakh out of it. Out of the Rs.3898 lakh estimated for
extension support, the RKVY has provided Rs.2768 lakh to Mahabubnagar district. It
amounts to receiving 71% of the requirement. The balance amount has to be
mobilized from other sources and schemes.

9. Regulatory infrastructure

There is one district level soil testing laboratory (Single window lab for analysis of
Fertilizers, Micronutrients & Seeds) functioning at Jedcherla and four AMC level Soil
Testing Labs (STL) are functioning at Gadwal, Narayanpet, Wanaparthy and
Nagarkurnool. These STLs will analyze soil samples for major and micronutrients
and provide fertilizer recommendations to the farmers.

These laboratories require strengthening by providing additional equipment and

trained staff to meet the increasing demand of input testing. Hence, it is proposed to
provide an amount Rs. 49.42 lakhs for strengthening of seed testing lab and Rs. 4.40
lakhs to the soil testing labs for increasing their capacity of analysis.

10. Conjunctive use

An additional area of 7.43 lakh ha will be brought under irrigation in Mahabubnagar

district after the construction of new irrigation projects and different lift irrigation
schemes. The construction work has been initiated and is in progress.

The tail end areas of Rajoli banda Diversion Scheme (RDS) and Priya darshini
Jurala Project (PJP) canal in Mahabubnagar district are Alampur and Manopad
mandals. The canal water is not reaching these areas in time due to insufficient flows
caused by improper maintenance of canal. Due to this, the farmers are unable to
raise crops in time, resulting in high pest infestation and low yields. The farmers are
unable to provide irrigation at critical stages of the crop (table 61).

To over come this situation and to increase water use efficiency, conjunctive use of
ground water along with canal water is quite important. It is proposed to establish
13500 bore wells in the command area over the next 5 years period. Even though

69
16600 wells are feasible to be dug, only 13500 are planned for conjunctive use of
water. The out lay proposed is Rs. 4050.00 lakhs to provide 50% subsidy to the
farmers on the cost of the bore well. The detailed project analysis is presented in
annexure table A.5

11. Micro irrigation

Micro irrigation is one of the most important methods in modern agriculture for
achieving efficient use of water resources. To bring more area of pulses and
oilseeds under assured production conditions, it is proposed to supply 2250 sprinkler
units in addition to the present supply of 150 sprinklers to increase the production of
pulse and oilseed crops over a period of 5 years. It requires a financial out lay of Rs.
150.00 lakhs (table 62). The detailed project analysis is presented in annexure table
A.6.
4.11 projected outcome and growth rate
The total requirement of funds for implementing various initiatives for agricultural
development during XI plan adds up to Rs.406579.35 lakh (table 63). The approved
plan of RKVY could provide only a small part of the requirements. The remaining
funds have to be mobilized from other sources and schemes.

Proposed sector wise growth rates

If all the interventions proposed are adequately funded, it is estimated that the
agricultural sector will achieve a growth rate of 5.2% per year. The growth rate in the
first year, 2007-08, is targeted at 4.2% and it is expected to accelerate gradually to
6.2% in 2011-12.

4.12 Researchable Issues

There is always a search for evolving more sustainable and profitable cropping
patterns for different parts of the district. The Regional Agricultural Research Station
(RARS), Palem has a mandate to evolve more drought tolerant and high yielding
varieties of paddy, jowar, maize, cotton, red gram, green gram, black gram, chick
pea, sunflower, chillies etc. There is also a need for developing efficient soil and
water conservation practices as well as watershed development programs.

70
Along with the above researchable issues, studies may also be conducted on socio-
economic and extension issues like indebtedness in the farming community, credit
coverage, cost of production, credit needs, tenancy contracts, access to credit,
investment patterns. Extension models can be studied and evolved suitable to the
situations.

Chapter V
Allied Agricultural sectors

5.1 Introduction
It was noted that the allied sectors like animal husbandry and fisheries have put in a
better performance during the last five years when compared with that of the
agricultural sector. With in the agricultural sector, horticulture and sericulture fared
better than the annual crops. During the next five year plan period, these sectors are
expected to fare even better due to changing consumption patterns in favor of high
value crops like fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, fish etc. A greater emphasis is
needed on the development of these sectors in the XI plan period.

Very small area is devoted to fodder crops, limiting the scope of development of
animal husbandry (table 64). Aquaculture and social forestry have made some
headway while sericulture is still in its infancy in the district. Due to limited irrigation
facilities, considerable area remains fallow, particularly in the post-rainy (rabi)
season.

5.2 Horticulture development

71
As the district is categorized under scanty rainfall area, horticulture is considered as
one of the focus areas to withstand the adverse weather conditions. At present, the
area under horticultural crops in Mahabubnagar district is 58749.00 ha which
accounts for a mere 6.5% of the total cultivated area. Hence, it is proposed to
increase the area under horticulture to raise the economic status of the farmer. The
major horticultural crops in the district are mango, sweet orange, sapota, papaya,
chillies, tomato, flowers and vegetables. As the district is adjoining the Capital city,
there is a growing demand for fresh vegetables and fruits. Hence 14,000 ha area is
proposed to be brought under hybrid vegetables and another 3000 ha under fruits.
Further, the changing life style and higher disposable income due to boom in
software sector leads to increasing use of floral art for various occasions. Hence
there is a heavy demand for cut flowers and organic dye extracted from flowers.

72
Among the horticultural crops, fruit crops occupy 62 per cent of the area, followed by
vegetables (16.7%), condiments (12.9%) and medicinal and aromatic plants (7.2%)
(table 65).

Sweet orange was the most important horticultural crop in Mahabubnagar district.
Besides sweet orange, sapota, payaya, banana, gherkins, cole crops, flower crops,
spices, medicinal and aromatic plants were all grown with irrigation support. Mango,
green chillies, tomato, onion, bhendi, gourds, brinjal, beans and other vegetables
received irrigation support for nearly one half of the area under them (table 67).
There is considerable response to irrigation in case of all these crops. In case of
other vegetables, irrigation support helped the farmers to achieve four times the yield
that was obtained under rainfed condition. The yields in case of green chillies, cole
crops, flowers, spices and medicinal and aromatic plants were the same both under
irrigated and rain fed condition.

Gaps in adoption of improved technologies in different horticultural crops

1. Lack of awareness among the farmers

2. Absentee land lords taking up Horticulture crops nominally to avoid land
encroachment
3. High labor cost and non-availability of labor
4. Lack of conviction about bio-fertilizers
5. Lack of crop specific local markets & storage facilities
6. Lack of knowledge on organic cultivation
7. Lack of credit linkages of the farmers with banks
8. Lack of varieties resistant to pests and diseases
9. Market price fluctuations discouraging the farmers to take up plantations
10. Lack of assured buy back system and minimum support price

Cold storage units

In Mahabubnagar District there are 2 Cold Storage Units with a capacity of 4000 tons
each. Chillies occupy 10 % to 15 % of storage area and the rest is mainly used for
fruits.

There is a necessity for establishing more number of cold storages to meet the cold
storage requirement of fruits and vegetables. As vast areas are existing under fruits

73
& vegetable and the area is increasing year by year, there is a need to establish cold
chains to avoid the post harvest losses in case of fruits and vegetables.

Rythu bazars

There are only 2 Rythu Bazars existing in the district.

Weekly Turnover in
Location Infrastructure
Qtls.
Near AMC, Nagarkurnool Available 120.00
Near TD Railway gate, Available 300.00
Mahabubnagar

Convergence with other departments

The National Horticulture Mission Programmes are converging with the schemes
implemented by Scheduled Castes Service Corporation (SCSC), Tribal Welfare
Department and District Water Management Agency (DWMA).

Interventions in Horticulture

1) Establishment new gardens / Area expansion

Sweet orange and Mango are the major fruit crops grown in the District. Area
expansion of Mango, Sweet Orange and Flowers (Loose flowers) has been
proposed in 3200 ha with high-density plantation on 75% subsidy with an allocation
of Rs. 699.00 lakhs over a period of five years. The detailed plan for expansion of
area under different fruit crops is given in table 69. Under the approved plan of
RKVY, Mahabubnagar district has been allocated Rs.112.5 lakh for expanding the
area under guava by 500 ha and another Rs.11.25 lakh for expanding the area under
grape in 50 ha. The balance amount required for expansion of area under
horticultural crops has to be mobilized from other sources.

There is a potential to increase the area under fruit crops in Mahabubnagar district.
In 2006-07, 861 ha was brought under mango. The area under sweet orange has
increased by 1492 ha in 2006-07. The total additional area brought under fruit crops
in 2006-07 was 2466 ha. In the next five years, it is targeted to further increase the
area under fruit crops. The area expansion is projected to go up to 2008-09 but will
decline in the next three years due to the exhaustion of potential area. A total of

74
10781 ha area is projected to be brought under fruit crops in the XI plan. Bulk of the
expansion will be in case of sweet orange and mango, while the area under sapota,
pomegranate, papaya, banana and guava will also go up slightly. The detailed
project analysis is presented in annexure table A.8.

2) Rejuvenation of old gardens of mango

In the old gardens, which are rain-fed, there is a huge gap between potential yields
and the existing yields. Hence, it is proposed to take up rejuvenation of unproductive
old gardens of more than 8 years age to increase the yields by adopting latest
technological methods. For this, it is proposed to cover 500 ha under this program
with an allocation of Rs. 75.00 lakh over a period of five years (table 70). Under the
approved plan of RKVY, Mahabubnagar district was not allocated any funds for
rejuvenation of old and senile gardens. Resources have to be found from other
schemes for implementing this scheme.

There are two farms in the public sector, one each at Pillalamarri and Madanapuram.
At Pillalamarri horticultural farm, there is an area of 0.8 ha under mother plants from
which 15000 grafts are produced every year. It is targeted that the production of
grafts will remain at 15000 in 2007-08, which will go up to 20,000 every year over the
next four years (table 71). The cost of producing 110,000 grafts worked out to Rs.11
lakh. The KVK, Madanapuram has 2 ha under the mother plants of mango, 1.0 ha
under mother plants of sapota. It has produced 15,000 grafts of mango and 1500
grafts of sapota in 2006-07. It is expected to produce the same number of grafts in
2007-08, but it is expected to increase the number of grafts from 2008-09. It is
expected to produce 105000 mango grafts at a cost of Rs.12.5 lakh and 13000
sapota grafts at a cost of Rs.1.95 lakh. There are ten private nurseries which have 8
ha of mango mother plants, 0.4 ha of sapota mother plants and 3 ha of pomegranate
mother plants. Over the next five years, they are expected to produce 8.7 lakh of
mango grafts, 16,500 sapota grafts and 5.95 lakh pomegranate layers. They produce
all these grafts and layers at a cost of Rs.123 lakh and make profit over that by
selling the planting material in the market. Since funds were not provided for this
activity under the approved plan of RKVY, they are to be raised from other sources.
The detailed project analysis is presented in annexure table A.9.

75
3) Hybrid vegetable cultivation
The productivity of Vegetables is very less due to the use of local varieties. For
increasing productivity levels and to fulfill the targets of per capita consumption, it is
essential to use the hybrid vegetable seeds. Hence, it is proposed to bring an area
of 2800 ha every year under hybrid varieties of vegetables. The financial outlay for
encouraging hybrid vegetable cultivation is Rs. 210.00 lakh for 5 years to cover a
total of 14000 ha. Under the approved plan of RKVY, an amount of Rs.225 lakh has
already been allocated for supply of hybrid vegetable seeds.

4) Integrated crop management:

Sweet orange is the major crop in Mahabubnagar district. About 60% of the area is in
bearing stage. These orchards have the major problems of dry root rot, gummosis,
micro nutrient deficiency and mite and thrip infestation. All these problems are
causing drastic reduction in the yields and are also affecting the quality of fruits. To
overcome these problems, it is proposed to take-up 500 ha of sweet orange crop
under Integrated Crop Management over a period of five years with a total financial
outlay of Rs.75.00 lakhs. The detailed project analysis is presented in annexure table
A.10.

5) Organic farming
Organic culture is an eco-friendly natural system. Under this, chemicals, synthetic
fertilizers and pesticides are not used. But, the emphasis is given on sustained soil
fertility buildup by recycling the organic waste and using botanicals or bio-pesticides.
It is proposed to establish 40 vermi-compost units with a financial assistance of 6.00
lakhs for 5years. It is also planned to establish 2 vermi-hatcheries with a financial
outlay of Rs. 0.40 lakhs in five years. The district received a sanction of Rs.22 lakh
for producing bio-pesticides, bio-fertilizers and for demonstrating the utility of organic
manures during the XI plan.

76
6. Protected cultivation (Green houses)
For obtaining good quality seedlings and reduction in cost of production of seedlings,
it is proposed to take up green houses in 10000 sq.mt area over the 5 years period
with a financial outlay of Rs. 32.50 lakhs. The approved plan of RKVY has
sanctioned Rs.30 lakh for providing shade nets in 40 ha area. Besides this, the
district also received sanction of Rs.42 lakh for establishing 40 shade houses and
Rs.42.5 lakh for providing five poly houses.

7) Farm mechanization
A. Plant protection equipments
It is proposed to supply 110 numbers of latest equipment like Taiwan/ Power
operated sprayers, Tractor Mounted sprayers etc to the farmers by providing 50%
subsidy. It requires a total subsidy of Rs. 8.02 lakhs over a period of five years.

B. Post harvest tools

For reduction of the Post harvest losses, 2000 numbers of Poly sheets are proposed
during 5 years with a financial assistance of 10.60 lakhs.

8) Horticulture extension services

Horticulture is a fast growing sector and the area is increasing more than 10% every
year. For providing technical supervision and to give guidance at field level, the
present extension staff is not sufficient. Hence, it is essential to strengthen the staff
at district level for which one Deputy Director, two Assistant Directors, 10 Horticulture
Officers, 20 field consultants and 17 supporting staff are proposed to be appointed
along with mobility and infrastructure to DDH and ADH. The total financial outlay
required is Rs.60.00 lakh per year i.e., Rs. 300.00 lakhs for a period of 5 years.

b. Infrastructure: In addition to extension services, infrastructure such as office

buildings, vehicles to officers for mobility, etc are needed. For this purpose, an
amount of Rs.75.00 lakhs is required over a period of five years.

9) Drip irrigation
In order to increase the water use efficiency and to increase the yields by utilizing
available water efficiently, it is proposed to take up drip Irrigation in vegetable crops

77
in 3000 ha area over five years with a financial outlay of Rs. 900.00 lakhs. Under the
approved plan of RKVY, an amount of Rs.617.65 lakh has been allocated for the
installation of drip systems in vegetable crops. The detailed project analysis is
presented in annexure table A.11.

5.3 Sericulture development

Introduction

The Farming Systems Approach (FSA) advocates the inclusion of the various allied
sectors for sustainable income to the farmer. Sericulture is one such sector, which is
capable of generating continuous employment/income.

There is a huge international demand for natural silk fabric indicating the
opportunities to tap the market. Sericulture is an agro based cottage industry as the
cocoon rearing will, in turn, encourage establishment of reeling and weaving units.
Sericulture was introduced in Mahabubnagar district in 1970 in an extent of 8 ha of
mulberry. Due to lucrative cash returns, most of the marginal and small farmers are
attracted towards sericulture and presently it is extended to 140 ha. The red soils of
this district are well suited for mulberry cultivation. As castor is one of major crop in
the district, Eri silk production can be targeted as an alternate enterprise. Certain
constraints are identified and interventions are planned to increase the growth rate in
sericulture.

Sericulture is a minor enterprise in the district (table 72). Only 75 farmers in the
district have taken it up in 52 ha. The yields of cocoon registered in different ADA
circles are quite low except in case of Atmakur and Mahabubnagar. The yields are
very poor in Gadwal and Narayanapet ADA circles. All other ADA circles have the
same yield as the district average. The state average cocoon production is 5000 kg
per ha, because of high yields reported in Anantapur and Chittoor districts. There are
no frontline demonstrations in case of sericulture. With respect to state average,
considerable yield gaps exist in all the ADA circles except Atmakur. The reasons for
the yield gap are that the farmers have not gained adequate experience and skills.
The summer temperatures are quite high, limiting the number of crops that can be

78
taken in a year. Shortage of water in some areas is constraining mulberry
productivity and, hence, that of cocoons.

Proposed interventions in sericulture

1. Mulberry plantations
To encourage more farmers to take-up mulberry cultivation and sericulture, it is
proposed to expand the area under mulberry plantation @ 10 ha per year with a
financial outlay of Rs. 0.75 lakhs. For this program, an amount of Rs. 3.75 lakhs is
required to cover an area of 50 ha in a period of 5 years. The detailed project
analysis is presented in annexure table A.12.

2. Procurement of saplings (both private and government nurseries)

Availability of quality feed of mulberry leaves in abundance is an essential pre-
requisite for sericulture development. Present availability of mulberry leaves is not
sufficient to meet the existing demand. Hence, it is proposed to supply 7.50 lakh
high yielding V1 variety saplings over a period of 5 years in order to enhance leaf
yield and, there by, increasing Cocoon production. These saplings will be produced
in government nurseries (5 units @ 1.22 lakh saplings per unit) as well as private
kisan nurseries (10 units @ 1.22 lakh saplings per unit) over a period of five years.
The excess saplings can be supplied to the interested farmers in the district or in the
adjoining districts.

3. On-farm training & startup tools to new mulberry cultivators

While bringing additional area under mulberry, it is necessary to give technical

knowledge to new farmers. Hence, on farm training should be provided regarding
mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing along with the supply of start up tools to
the new farmers (mulberry sericulturists). For this purpose, an amount of Rs. 3.125
lakh rupees are required to give training to the new farmers who will cover it in 50 ha.

79
4. Supply of rearing appliances/ farm equipment to farmers (for bi-voltaine
farmers):

Latest rearing equipment is essential to maintain hygienic environment besides

saving in labor cost. To improve the rearing facilities and to achieve quality silk
production, it is proposed to supply rearing equipment to the farmers at a financial
cost of Rs. 12.50 lakhs over the period of five years (table 73).
5. Providing assistance for drip Irrigation systems
Drip irrigation system improves the leaf quality and production, besides saving water,
labor, inputs, power and time. To ensure quality leaf production, it is proposed to
extend a financial support of Rs. 23.328 lakhs over a period of five years (subsidy
pattern is 90% to SC/ST/women farmers and 70% to others) (table 74).

6. Supply of quality disinfectant material

Protection from diseases is the most important task in silkworm rearing. To avoid
contamination and to prevent out break of silkworm diseases, it is proposed to
supply quality disinfectant materials to the farmers covering 50 ha with a financial out
lay of Rs. 3.375 lakhs over a period of five years (table 75).

7. Assistance for construction of rearing house

Availability of good rearing house is essential to maintain congenial environment i.e.,
temperature, humidity and good aeration for the healthy growth of silk worms. To
create healthy environment, it is proposed to extend financial assistance to the tune
of Rs. 93.769 lakhs to establish 125 numbers of ideal rearing houses over a period
of five years (table 76).

8. Assistance for construction of chawkie rearing buildings

Two chawkie rearing buildings are required in Mahabubnagar district with an outlay
of Rs. 0.50 lakhs per year. A total financial outlay of Rs. 2.5 lakhs is required for
constructing ten buildings in five years.

9. Assistance for procurement of chawkie rearing equipment

It is proposed to procure ten chawkie rearing equipments and an amount of Rs. 5.00
lakhs is required over the period of five years.

80
10. Vermi-compost units
To improve the quality and quantity of mulberry leaves, it is proposed to establish
vermi compost units in private sector, with a total support of Rs. 4.375 lakhs over a
period of five years (table 77).

11. Strengthening of government silk reeling unit

One government silk reeling unit is located at Shadnagar in Mahabubnagar district.
To take care of expected additional silk production, it is proposed to strengthen this
existing government silk reeling unit with an investment of Rs. 13.75 lakhs over the
period of five years.

12. Improvement of Seed farms

There are two sericulture seed farms in Mahabubnagar district. To provide capital
items like drip irrigation system, pipe line for water transport, deepening of existing
bore wells and for the supply of fertilizers and FYM, etc., an amount of Rs. 25.00
lakhs is required over the period of five years.

13. Trainings needs

To impart training to the extension and technical staff of sericulture department in
latest techniques of mulberry cultivation, silk worm rearing and maintenance of units,
it is proposed to organize 25 trainings per year at a cost of Rs. 0.25 lakhs per year.
The total financial outlay required for organizing 125 training programs is Rs. 1.25
lakhs over the period of five years.

14. Publicity
In order to increase the area under mulberry cultivation and to establish new rearing
units for enhancing the production of silk cocoons, a wide publicity is very much
needed. Publicity may be given through electronic and print media and through
exhibitions/demonstrations in villages. For this purpose, a lump sum amount of Rs.
2.50 lakhs per year is required with a total invest of Rs.12.50 lakhs over the period of
five years.

The sericulture department has prepared an ambitious plan to extend the cultivation
of mulberry by strengthening various activities in XI plan period at a cost of Rs.240

81
lakh (table 78). The major activities that need support are assistance to construction
of rearing houses, supply of rearing appliances, subsidy to drip irrigation and training
to the farmers and staff. Publicity, improvement of seed farms, strengthening of silk
reeling unit, vermi-compost unit etc are the other activities that needed support. The
activities for 2007-08 include strengthening of government silk reeling unit at
Shadnagar and improvement of seed farms and, hence, the cost estimates are
higher at Rs.60.3 lakh. In the subsequent four years, the budget estimates are for
Rs.44.8 lakh. Besides infrastructure development and capacity building, new
mulberry plantations will be taken up in about 50 ha during the five years period. The
investments will be high as they involve capital expenditures.

Since sericulture activities are not funded under RKVY, resources for implementing
development plans in sericulture have to be found from other sources.

5.4 Animal Husbandry (AH) development

White Revolution has indicated the enormous importance of AH sector in the total
economy. AH sector comprises of various components such as dairy, poultry, Sheep
& Goat rearing. AH is one of the main components of Multi-Enterprise Agricultural
Model System. Besides fulfilling the nutritive requirement of the family, dairy
generates additional income, organic manure and bio-gas, thereby contributing to
the enhancement of economic status of the farm family.

The bovine population of the district is 10.86 lakhs, which includes 7.30 lakhs white
cattle and 3.56 buffaloes. In Mahabubnagar district milk production is primarily
through buffaloes. Six milk chilling centres are functioning in the district. The District
co-operative dairy is procuring 0.97 lakh litre per day. Sheep and goat rearing
encourages the establishment of meat processing, leather and woolen industries.
The district has 34.43 lakh sheep and 4.75 lakh goats. There is a sheep breeders
co-operative union at district head quarters with 792 sheep breeders co-operative
society as its members.

Only 3.5% of the gross cropped area in Mahabubnagar district is earmarked for
fodder production (table 79). Wanaparthy, Mahabubnagar, Atmakur and Achampet

82
ADA circles have more fodder area under them. Shadnagar ADA circle has very little
area under fodder crops. There is substantial area under grazing land in the district.
Achampet and Gadwal ADA circles have the highest concentration of these grazing
lands. Grazing lands are conspicuous by absence in Narayanapet ADA circle, while
Amangal ADA circle has very little area under them. The number of cattle is more
than twice that of buffaloes in the district. Only 4.7% of the cattle belong to
improved/cross-bred categories. Among the buffaloes, 12% belong to improved
category. All the 31.2 lakh sheep in the district belong to indigenous breed. The
population of goats is only about one sixth of sheep population. Both the cattle and
buffaloes are concentrated in Kodangal and Achampet ADA circles. The population
of cattle and buffaloes is very low in Shadnagar ADA circle. Narayanapet and
Atmakur have large concentrations of sheep population, while Achampet and
Kodangal ADA circles lead in goat population. Poultry population is concentrated
more in Amangal, Mahabubnagar, Bijinepally and Nagarkurnool ADA circles.

Out of the 1452 villages, 373 villages only have some kind of veterinary institution in
them (table 80). About 1080 villages do not have any veterinary institutions. Gadwal
ADA circle has the highest number of veterinary institutions followed by Jadcherla
ADA circle. Amangal and Kodangal ADA circles have the least number of veterinary
institutions. Overall, the number of veterinary institutions in the district is quite less
relative to the number of animals in the district.

The milk production in the district in 2006-07 was 2.96 lakh M.tons (table 81). The
average milk production was only 4 kg per animal. The productivity is projected to go
up to 5.25 kg per animal in 2011-12. The population of milch animals is also
projected to increase by 20,000. As a result, the milk production in the district is
projected to go up to 3.98 lakh M.tons which implies a growth of nearly 34.5%. The
total meat production, which stands at 37.14 lakh M.tons is projected to go up to
45.75 lakh M.tons. This 23% increase in meat production will mainly be on account
of increase in the numbers of animals. The egg production is poised to increase by
31%, again because of the increase in the number of layers from 32 lakh to 42 lakh.
The productivity of 290 eggs per bird which is already high is likely to remain stable
at that level. No funds are allotted by the Zilla Parishad for livestock development
schemes in the district (table 82).

83
Proposed interventions in Animal husbandry sector
Certain constraints have been identified and strategies/interventions have been
developed to overcome them and increase the growth rate in live stock development.

1. Foot and Mouth disease vaccination

Foot and mouth disease is one of the major dreadful diseases causing enormous
loss to live stock development. At present vaccine is being supplied on 50% subsidy
and only 5% interested farmers are getting their animals vaccinated against the
dreadful diseases. Hence, it is proposed to vaccinate all the cattle in campaign mode
with an aim to eradicate this dreadful disease from district completely with a financial
out lay of Rs. 826.20 lakhs over the period of five years. The approved plan of RKVY
did not allocate any funds for foot and mouth disease vaccination in Mahabubnagar
district (table 83). The detailed project analysis is presented in annexure table A.14.

2. Calf induction program

It is one of the breeding programs essential for breed improvement and for
increasing milk production in the district by five folds over a span of five years. The
existing crossbred germ plasm program has only resulted in the improved buffaloes
accounting to only five per cent of the total buffaloes population. To speed-up the
breed improvement process, it is proposed to supply 5000 number of crossbred
Murrah/graded Murrah Heifer calves of 10-12 months age to identified beneficiaries
on 50% subsidy with an outlay of Rs. 536.20 lakhs over a period of 5 years. This
program will develop milch animals with a production capacity of 8-10 litres/day,
thereby increasing the milk production in the district. The approved scheme of RKVY
provided Rs.214.48 lakh for induction of 2000 heifer calves in to the district. The
balance amount needed to induct 3000 more heifer calves has to be found from
other sources and schemes (table 84). The detailed project analysis is presented in
annexure table A.15.

84
3. Heifer calf feed subsidy

The Animal Husbandry department/ APLDA / BAIF are involved in breed up-
gradation in the district. Breed improvement by AI program is being taken-up in the
district by different agencies. In order to exploit the genetic potential of the female
calves born out of AI, the cattle feed will be supplied to the farmers on 50% subsidy.
It is proposed to supply feed to 1000 female calves every year with a financial outlay
of Rs. 268.10 lakhs for the period of 5 years. No funds were allocated in the
approved scheme of RKVY for this activity (table 85).

4. Mobile Disease Diagnostic Laboratories

At present, the veterinary institutions are located at Taluq (VH), Mandal (VD) and
RLU at village level (for 5-6 villages) in the district. In order to prevent major livestock
losses due to disease outbreaks, it is proposed to establish 5 division level mobile
disease diagnostic laboratories with a financial outlay of Rs. 144.25 lakh over the
next five years. Mahabubnagar district was allocated Rs.82.16 lakh for introducing
one mobile disease diagnostic laboratory during the XI plan. The remaining funds
needed have to be mobilized from other sources and schemes (table 86).

5. Health care to sheep and goat and training of sheep growers

In order to increase meat production and to lessen the worm infestation in sheep and
goat, the free de-worming program will be taken up in the district by covering all the
sheep and goat population. As the shepherds and goat rearers are still illiterate, they
need time-to-time update on different activities related to sheep and goat rearing.
Accordingly, continuous training programs are to be organized to sensitize the
shepherds. It is proposed to take up healthcare and training programs with a
financial outlay of Rs. 599.87 lakh over the period of five years. The approved plan of
RKVY has provided Rs.311.84 lakh for health care to sheep and goat in the district.
The remaining funds needed have to be sourced from other schemes (table 87). The
detailed project analysis is presented in annexure table A.16.

85
6. Chaff cutters

It is proposed to supply 1000 chaff cutters per year with Rs. 70.00 lakh as a subsidy
to farmers. For this purpose, an amount of Rs. 370.00 lakhs was estimated for
supply of 5000 chaff cutters over a period of five years. No support is provided for
this activity under RKVY and, hence, the resources for implementing the scheme
have to come from other sources (table 88).

7. Perennial fodder production

Green fodder plays a vital role in increasing the milk yielding capacity of the milch
animals. During the last year, the farmers were sensitized about the importance of
perennial fodder and an extent of 300 ha has been taken-up in the district on subsidy
basis. There was tremendous response from the farmers and they could realize the
importance of green fodder in dairy production. In order to create a permanent
fodder resource base in the district to the milch animals throughout the year and
there by increase milk production, it is proposed to establish 7200 perennial fodder
units with a financial out lay of Rs. 90.00 lakhs over a period of five years and supply
chaff cutters on 50% subsidy to increase the feed efficiency. This activity was not
covered under the approved plan of RKVY (table 89). The detailed project analysis is
presented in annexure table A.17.

8. Induction of milch animals

It is proposed to induce high yielding milch animals under different schemes in the
district to increase milk production and thereby increasing the incomes of the
farmers. In this program, it is proposed to introduce 3000 milch animals per year with
a financial outlay of Rs.450.00 lakhs. A total investment of Rs. 2250.00 lakhs is
required to induct 15000 animals in to the district over a period of five years. The
approved plan of RKVY has allocated Rs.800 lakh for inducting 4000 milch animals
in to the district. The ongoing programs have a provision of Rs.1000 lakh to
Mahabubnagar to induct 5000 milch animals during the XI plan. The balance amount
of funds has to be sourced from other schemes to meet the target (table 90). The
detailed project analysis is presented in annexure table A.18.

86
The total requirement of funds in the XI plan for the development of animal
husbandry in Mahabubnagar district is estimated at Rs.2835 lakh (table 91). Most of
the funds are needed for the control of foot and mouth disease and towards health
care for sheep and goats. Other important schemes are the induction of heifer calves
on subsidy, supply of chaff cutters and feed support to heifer calves. Some funds are
allotted for establishment of perennial fodder plots and for mobile disease diagnostic
laboratories.

The approved plan of RKVY has provided Rs.48.33 lakh for the supply of 3222
breeding rams during the XI plan. Funds are also provided to set up one market yard
at a cost of Rs.25 lakh. This complements the availability of Rs.25 lakh under the
existing program to set up one sheep market yard in the district. The district was
allocated five bulk milk cooling units at a cost of Rs.275 lakh. The district was also
provided Rs.30 lakh to train 3000 dairy farmers and shepards in the district. While
some funds are provided by the existing and RKVY schemes, a lot more funds have
to be sourced from other schemes to implement the interventions planned for the
development of animal husbandry in the district.

5.5 Fisheries development

The growing heath consciousness of the people is raising the demand for fish and its
products relative to red meat. Fish is recommended as a whole some food,
especially as a vitamin A supplement for countering eye related problems. Fish
products are highly nutritive and cost effective vis -a- vis poultry and meat products.
Hence, this sector is being encouraged as one of the growth areas.

Mahabubnagar district has a population of 23,500 fishermen. The main occupation

of these fishermen is inland fishing. 460 fishermen co-operative societies and 16
fisher women cooperative societies are rearing fish in 600 medium irrigation tanks, 7
reservoirs and 4600 gram panchayat tanks in the district. The annual fish production
is estimated at 10,000 tons and the fisheries sector is contributing 1.24% to the
district income. 50 ha of fresh water ponds are also present in the district.

The productivity levels in different sources have been analyzed. This analysis
revealed that there is a gap between the potential and actual levels of productivity

87
and that there is possibility to attain an additional production of about 5000 tons by
taking-up some interventions and strategies.

There are 597 village tanks and 27 inland ponds from which fish are produced (table
92). Wanaparthy ADA circle leads in the number of village tanks, while Atmakur and
Alampur ADA circles have more inland ponds. The fisheries activity is very little in
Mahabubnagar and Shadnagar ADA circles. The productivity of fish ponds is very
low, ranging between 200 to 300 kg per ha. The yield gap is also equally big,
implying that the fish yield in the district is only one half of the state average. The
reasons for the yield gap are non-implementation of improved cultural methods,
inability of the fisher men to procure required inputs, lack of knowledge about
improved technology etc.

There are 875 gram panchayat tanks with a total water spread area of 5958 ha (table
93). The average water spread area of the village tank is 6.8 ha. There are 597 tanks
under the control of fisheries department with a total water spread area of 40003 ha.
The average water spread area in the fisheries department tanks is 67 ha. There are
three large reservoirs on the river Krishna and Tungabhadra with a total water
spread area of 25,568 ha. Besides these, the rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra travel
for 107 kms in the district. Fishing activity can be taken up in all these water
resources.

The production of fish in Mahabubnagar district during 2007-08 is estimated at

13,000 tons (table 94). Intensive method of fish culture is practiced in 2500 ha with
an yield of 2000 kg per ha. This method of fish culture is yielding 5000 tons of fish.
The semi-intensive method is practiced in 4000 ha with an yield of 500 kg per ha.
2000 tons of fish are produced in this system. Extensive method of fish culture is
practiced in 60,000 ha, but the yield is low as 100 kg per ha. 6000 tons of fish are
estimated to be produced in this extensive method. In the next four years, fisheries
department estimates that the fish production can be doubled mainly by increasing
the yields. The total requirement of fingerlings in 2007-08 was estimated at 557.3
lakh which will double to 1114.6 lakh by 2011-12. The number of hatcheries will have
to increase from 13 to 28 in this period in order to meet the requirements of the
fingerlings.

88
The total budget requirement for increasing the fish production in the district during
XI plan is estimated at Rs.2514 lakh (table 95). The maximum allocation of Rs.800
lakh is proposed for supporting construction of fish ponds. Rs.625 lakh each are
proposed for construction of fish farms and supply of inputs. Subsidies schemes to
supply fingerlings are also allocated substantial funds. Revolving fund to the fisher
women cooperative societies will be provided at the rate of Rs.4 lakh per year. All the
activities are provided uniform allocation in the five years except in case of subsidy
for R.D scheme for which the allocations are increased progressively.

The achievements of the fisheries department have been quite appalling during the
tenth plan period (table 96). As against a financial target of Rs.271 lakh, only 4.22
lakh were spent in 2005-06. The percentage of funds spent improved to some extent
in 2006-07. But, the achievement was only 17.6% as against the target of Rs.231
lakh.

Proposed interventions in the fisheries sector

1. Freshwater fish culture in tanks
Availability of good quality seed is critically important to increase fish production. By
making good quality seed available, it is proposed to establish 200 fresh water fish
culture units per year in the district with a financial plan of Rs. 50.00 lakhs. The total
investment required for supporting 1000 fresh water fish culture units is estimated at
Rs.250 lakhs over the period of five years. RKVY has approved an allocation of
Rs.80 lakh for fresh water fish culture in 80 tanks. The remaining funds needed have
to be mobilized from other schemes and sources (table 97).

2. Construction of Fish Markets

As there is a heavy demand for fish in towns and villages, there is a need to
construct fish markets in various towns and at district headquarters. For this
purpose, it is proposed to construct 35 fish Markets @ 7 markets per year with a total
financial outlay of Rs. 175.00 lakhs in five years. The approved plan of RKVY has
allocated Rs.30 lakh for establishing six fish markets in major gram panchayats and
Rs.10 lakh for constructing a fish market in municipal areas. Rs.9 lakh were also
provided for launching six fish retail-vending units in the district (table 98).

89
3. Revolving fund for Fisher women
To encourage fisher women to organize in to cooperative societies, it is proposed to
provide revolving fund of Rs. one lakh each to five fisher women societies per year.
Over the period of five years 25 fisher women co-operative societies will be
supported at a total budget of Rs.25.00 lakhs. Two self-help groups were already
funded to an extent of Rs.1.15 lakh in 2007-08. Each fisher women who is a member
of fisher women cooperative society will be provided an assistance of Rs.5000 as
working capital assistance. This scheme is likely to be extended to more members in
the four years to come. Despite this, more resources have to be found from other
sources for supporting the activities of fisher women groups (table 99).

4. Supply of nets and Boats

It is proposed to provide gear and craft to 600 license holders every year to exploit
the potential of capture fisheries in backwaters of reservoirs. Over the five years
period, 3000 fishermen will be supplied nets and boasts at a total cost of Rs.225
lakhs. This activity was not supported by the approved plan of RKVY and resources
have to be mobilized from other schemes (table 100).

5. Construction of new fish ponds

In this district, thousands of hectares of land are inundated with Jurala canal water
which has rendered them unfit for paddy culture. But fish culture can be taken-up on
them profitably. It is proposed to convert 100 ha of land in to fish culture ponds at a
cost of Rs.460.0 lakhs during the five year period. The approved plan of RKVY has
allocated Rs.460 lakh for construction of fresh water fishponds in 1000 ha area (table
101)

6. Training and capacity building

As most of the fishermen are illiterate, they need capacity building to follow good
cultural practices and post harvest technologies for fish production and marketing. It
is proposed to organize training and exposure visits to 250 fisher men at a total cost
of Rs.25.00 lakhs. This activity is not covered by the approved scheme of RKVY and
the funds have to be met from the normal departmental schemes (table 102).

90
7. Reservoir for fish seed stocking
Under this scheme, the department is stocking fish seed in reservoirs and
backwaters of Srisailam project to enhance fish production. It is proposed to stock
the fish seed on 100% subsidy basis in the reservoirs in 4 mandals of the district. It is
expected to cost Rs.122.50 lakhs during the fiveyear period. The Koial sagar is
identified for giving license to fishermen for fishing. Mahabubnagar district is likely to
get about Rs.30 lakh for supporting this activity. The remaining amount may have to
be mobilized from other schemes (table 103).

8. Strengthening of departmental farms

There are four departmental fish seed farms in the district. In order to maintain and
timely supply all the varieties of fish, the present departmental farms need to be
strengthened so that the future demand for seed can be met from these farms. An
investment of Rs. 150.00 lakhs is estimated during the five years period. The funds
have to come from regular department schemes, as this activity is not covered by the
scheme approved by RKVY (table 104)

9. Construction of farm for rearing fish seed

To meet the increasing demand for fish seed and to reduce the mortality of fish seed
while transporting it, it is proposed to construct a new fish seed farm in
Mahabubnagar district at a financial outlay of Rs. 100.00 lakhs. Since RKVY plan
does not cover it, the resources for this have to come from other sources. The
detailed project analysis is presented in annexure table A.13.

5.6 Watershed development

Since the year 1995-1996, 661 watershed development projects were implemented in the
district. Out of these, 252 watersheds have been completed and 409 watersheds are still
ongoing. Nature of works taken up are soil & moisture conservation works like farm ponds,
field bunding, sunken pits, supply / diversion channels etc. water harvesting structures like
percolation tanks, check dams and afforestation, horticulture plantation and enterprise
promotion activities and productivity enhancement activities, training to primary and
secondary stake holders etc.

91
Watershed activities are being taken up in 24 villages in the district (table 105). The
total area to be surveyed under these watersheds is 31466 samples. Out of this, only
9775 ha have been surveyed since 2007. 21691 ha have been deleted from survey
activity during the XI plan period. Hence only 9875 ha area has to be surveyed in the
XI plan period.

The total geographical area of the watersheds is 29807 ha (table 106). Out of this,
20032 ha does not require any development under watershed program. Only 9775
ha required watershed development activities. Since none of this area was treated
so far, it is proposed to develop all this area in the five years of XI plan. In the first
year it will start with only 10% of the area at a cost of Rs.58.65 lakh. But by the third
year of XI plan, that is 2009-10, as much as 2668.6 ha will be taken up for
development at a cost of Rs.160.11 lakh. In the next two years, the program will be
scaled down. Over the five years period, Rs.587 lakh will be required for completing
development in 9775 ha area.

Till 2006-07, 40,800 ha area was covered under in-situ moisture conservation
activities like contour cultivation, dead furrows and ridges and furrows (table 107).
During the next five years, a total of 26,900 ha area will be treated with technologies
needed for in-situ moisture conservation. These activities will start modestly in 2400
ha in 2007-08 and will reach a peak of 7400 ha in the third year. They will be scaled
down a bit in the next two years.

Financial progress of ongoing watersheds

An amount of Rs. 6030 lakhs has been spent under DPAP schemes i.e. DPAP-V to
VIII & Hariyali-I to IV to implement the ongoing watershed programs. The details are
as follows (table 108).

NWDPRA PROGRAMME by Department of Agriculture

Under NWDPRA program, various activities of Watershed development such as contour

bunding, stone checks, sunken ponds, dugout ponds, rock fill dams, mini percolation

92
tanks, etc are being taken up in the district. The activities taken up in Mahabubnagar
district during Xth plan period are summarized as follows (table 109).

Proposals for XI plan period

During XI plan period, the following proposals are proposed for implementation in
Mahabubnagar district under NWDPRA (table 110).

5.7 Food processing and rural industries

There are no agro-processing units in the district. There is no plan to establish them
in the 11th plan period also (table 111).

Neither there are any farm level storage structures till now, nor there any plans to
establish them in the next five years. Since it is not a major onion growing area, the
need for onion storage structures is not felt. Similarly, because of the strategic
location of the district close to Hyderabad and Kurnool markets, the need for
establishing zero energy chambers is not visualized (table 112).

There are no rural godowns or cold storages for storing the agricultural produce in
the district (table 113). There are 17 agricultural markets and 6 sub-markets in the
district. Gadwal, Wanaparthy, Narayanapet and Atmakur ADA circles have two main
markets each. All other ADA circles other than Kodangal and Bijinapally are served
by one main market each. There are no main markets in Kodangal ADA circle but it
is served by two sub markets. In case of Bijinapally, there are neither main markets
nor sub-markets to provide marketing services to the farmers.

There are 31 Small Scale Industries (SSI) in the district. 11 of them are related to
food based industries (table 114). While five are based on minerals, four are based
on chemicals. Three each are based on paper and forest products. The remaining
units are related to general engineering, textile, plastic and electric industries. By
2003-04, the total investment on the SSI was estimated at Rs.10.42 crore. They
provided employment of 410 persons. Subsequently, 20 units were added in 2004-05
with an additional investment of Rs.5.5 crore, targeting an additional employment to
214 persons. 15 more units were added in 2005-06 at an investment of Rs.5.4 crore,
targeting an employment to 232 persons. In 2006-07, only six units were added at a

93
capital of Rs.4.73 crore and providing employment to 193 persons. As time passed,
the cost per unit has increased and employment per unit investment has decreased.

Under the Khadi and Village Industries program, it is proposed to ground 1236 units
in 2007-08 at a cost of Rs.2348 lakh. These targets are progressively increased to
1502 physical units in 2011-12 at a cost of Rs.2852 lakh (table 115).

During the Xth plan, the achievements exceeded the targets in the first two years
and in the last year. But, the targets were not achieved in 2004-05 and 2005-06. The
total units targeted by the district industrial center were 5643 in the Xth plan. As
against this, 5372 units were grounded in the Xth plan period (table 116).

During the XI plan period, District Industrial Center has set targets to establish 1236
units at a cost of Rs.2348 lakh in 2007-08. The targets are increased year after year
to establish 1502 units in 2011-12 at a cost of Rs.2852 lakh (table 117).

5.8 COMPREHENSIVE LAND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (INDIRA PRABHA)

The Government has introduced the Comprehensive Land Development Project

(CLDP) with the objective of providing an integrated and comprehensive livelihood
options centered around development of compact blocks of assigned lands and the
contiguous lands owned by the poor. The project targets the individual (i.e., small
and marginal farmers) to develop their un-productive lands so that food security and
livelihood are ensured by appropriate on-farm and off-farm interventions. The project
envisages covering a minimum of 50% SC and 10% ST families.

The project will be implemented with an amount of Rs.14.066 crore sanctioned under
RIDF-IX and Rs.12.688 crore under RIDF-X. The project period is for 3 years (2004-
2007). Under RIDF-IX, 412 blocks are identified with coverage of 7535 ha as in 307
villages and under RIDF-X, 413 blocks are identified with coverage of 7075 ha in 274
villages. The village organizations have identified 450 para-workers to facilitate
effective implementation. These para-workers are given three days orientation on
CLDP. With the support of village organizations the para-workers have formed and
organized Common Interest Groups (CIG), opened bank accounts and prepared
action plan. So far Rs.1351.536 Lakhs has been released to CIGs. The works have

94
been grounded in 498 villages, the major focus of work is on land development like
Bush Clearance, Bunding, Silt application & Pitting, apart from providing better
livelihood. As on date an amount of Rs.1226.406 lakhs have been spent (table 118).

An amount of Rs.1498.764 lakhs is still available to accomplish the remaining targets

during the XI plan.

NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has been passed by the Parliament with
an intention to provide security to the rural poor. The main aim of the Act is to
provide at least 100 days wage employment to unskilled labor; to provide
compensation if work is not allotted and to provide facilities at the place of work.
This scheme will not allow the usage of machines. Meetings and workshops have
been conducted at the district and mandal levels to create awareness about the
program. The Andhra Pradesh Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has been
launched on 02-02-2006. Gramasabhas were conducted at Gram Panchayat level
during which villagers have been explained about the scheme in detail. Till today
5,93,378 job cards have been issued. During the year 2007-08, 55,354 works have
been administratively sanctioned for the years 2007-08 and are being funded from
these plans. So far 11,687 households were provided with 100 days of wage
employment.

5.9 Social forestry

Progress of plantation
The Government has proposed to take up 40,000 ha of Bio-diesel plantation i.e.,
Jatropha and Pongamia in the district. The plantation has been taken up in the
farmers fields and government watersheds. So far Bio-diesel plantation has been
done in 3762 ha under NFFWP and 3584 ha under EGS. Under horticulture
plantation 2624 ha of land identified for Mango plantation 7212 ha of land identified
for Sweet Orange plantation. So far, in the district horticulture plantation has been
done in 1543 ha with Mango and 4235 ha with Sweet Orange (table 119).

5.10 Agricultural Marketing

95
Marketing is one of the important aspects of farming. Economy of the farmers
directly depends on market price of the produce. In Mahabubnagar district there are
17 Market Committees functioning along with 9 sub centers. The most important
farmer friendly program is Rythu Bandhu pathakam, which is providing facility for
storing the farmers produce and providing 75% of value of the produce as a loan.
There is a further need to strengthen the Agricultural Market Infrastructure as well as
grading and Standardization techniques (table 120).

There are 17 agricultural markets and 6 sub-markets in the district. Gadwal,

Wanaparthy, Narayanapet and Atmakur ADA circles have two main markets each. All
other ADA circles other than Kodangal and Bijinapally are served by one main
market each. There are no main markets in Kodangal ADA circle but it is served by
two sub markets. In case of Bijinapally, there are neither main markets nor sub-
markets to provide marketing services to the farmers.

However, at different markets, there are some storage structures. Till 2006-07, 48
godowns were constructed at a cost of Rs.576 lakh. There are 59 covered platforms
built at a cost of Rs.354 lakh and 16 open platforms built at a cost of Rs.48 lakh. In
the next five years period, it is proposed to establish several amenities at the
markets. The target for 2007-08 is to provide 66 amenities at a cost of Rs.33 lakh.
The target for 2008-09 is much higher at 382 involving an investment of Rs.191 lakh.
These targets are scaled up over the next three years to reach 662 in 2011-12 at a
cost of Rs.331 lakh. Thus, a massive marketing infrastructure plan is prepared for
strengthening the amenities at the markets in Mahabubnagar district over the next
five years.
For this purpose, proposals are submitted for seeking additional central assistance
for implementing the following schemes/program to achieve the envisaged 4%
agricultural growth rate during the 11 th plan period. It includes the strategies of
intensification, diversification and improving the competitiveness of agricultural
production system and crop management processes coupled with technology
transfer.

1. Village Markets

96
Presently 17 notified Agricultural Market Committees (AMC) serves the district. Each
AMC on an average covers 4 mandals and 76 villages. Farmer-producers have
difficulty in accessing existing market yards due to high transportation costs in
traveling 12 to 15 km. Therefore, there is a need to undertake decentralized market
operations near farm gate/village cluster to enhance market access to farmer-
producers. To this end, it is proposed to organize procurement/ collection centres
near the farm gate or village cluster identified by local AMCs as Spoke markets
within the notified Hub markets of the AMC.

Besides the problem of high transportation cost, farmers also complain about
traditional ways of weighing, unscientific way of grading and irrational way of
declaring prices for the commodities through auction/tender system. To overcome
these problems, it is proposed to use electronic weighing machines, moisture meters
and other post harvest support technology including storage space and drying
platform. It is also planned to train the educated youth who are well settled in
cultivation to function as graders and sorters in the AMCs.

In pursuance of decentralized farmer-centric activities, it is also proposed to take up

core market activities such as processing and grading by using standardization
techniques including storage, weighment and certification at the farm or village level
to reduce congestion in regulated markets. This is not a new idea, but revival of
market extension activity forgotten in the recent years along with necessary
technological support. Cotton and tobacco crops were standardized at the local level
in the past before entering market yard /platform. De-centralised procurement
operations of Maize and Paddy on pilot basis tried in the state during the past three
market seasons have raised hopes of decentralizing market activities to farm or
village level involving women-self-help groups as procurement agents locally for the
purpose (table 121).

Evolving systems from within to rationalize the existing trade practices by statutory
clothing is thought of as a feasible alternative to the present centralized system.
Nodal agencies designated for the purpose of procurement of paddy, coarse grain,
maize, cotton and oilseeds under MSP and MIS such as A.P. Civil Supplies
Corporation, A.P. Markfed, A.P. Oil Federation on behalf of FCI/NAFED/CCI could be

97
largely encouraged under the proposed concept to set-up their operations locally.
This proposed approach is in tune with the policy guidelines of government of India
aimed at enabling the farmers to market their produce within 8 km radius (distance)
locally. Towards this end, 320 procurement/collection centers have been identified at
the mandal/village cluster level for the district covering 64 mandals in the district at
an estimated cost of Rs.8000 lakhs.

2. Farmer Information Centers

There is a great revolution in the filed of information technology and the government
has taken many steps to use this technology for the benefit of rural people,
especially, farming community which accounts for more than 60% of Indias
population. The prime objective is to transfer the technology directly from lab to land
and from land to lab apart from general health care etc., by administering the
proposed Farmer Information Centre (FIC) equipment in the 17 existing market
yards. The main advantage in providing FIC system is to avoid the involvement of
middlemen and to provide comprehensive information regarding crop techniques to
the farmers. The proposed Integrated FIC system consists of interactive information
KIOSK, IVRS (Interactive Voice Response System), automatic display and
announcement system and an exclusive web site portal. From FIC system, latest
information of prices can be made available, enabling the farmer to get best price for
his product. Critical information on crop diseases and detailed information on
pesticides for a given location and availability of pesticides can also be provided.
Farmer can be supplied with information that helps him in marketing his produce.

The F.I.C. system disseminates online price and information on arrivals of all market
yards in the LOCAL LANGUAGE. Apart from this; information on cultivation, general
health care, news and food & nutrition can also be made available to the farming
community. Multimedia based user friendly interactive information Kiosk is very easy
to operate using finger touch mechanism for providing information in local language
(table 122)
Crops & Seed selection based on soil and water resources.
Suggested intercrops and advantages.
Pests and pest control methods.
Latest agricultural implements and their usage.

98
 Daily price, arrival and weather reports.
Farmer educative video clippings.
Local soil terrains with full details for selection of suitable crop seeds.
Expert advises.
News flashes.
Facilities provided such as cold storages, soil test laboratories along with
addresses.
Health care; Information on HIV / AIDS, TR, Cancer, Malaria, Dengue,
Leprosy etc.,
Food and Nutrition: Nutrition related information on Fruits & Vegetables, Eggs,
Poultry, Meat etc.,
Jalayagnam details etc.,

FIC System Components:

Sl.No. Description
1 KIOSK Steel Cabinet, Panel PC 17 LCD, Touch Screen monitor
loaded with XP
2 IVRS HP PC with 17 monitor.
3 Data voice fax modem 56 KBPS External for IVRS
4 UPS-1KVA online with one hour battery back-up.
5 Dot matrix printer
6 UTP cable with RJ-45 connectors of 25 m length
7 MS Office 2000
8 1 plug software for multilingual support
9 VB voice software
10 Anti virus software
11 Operating System: Windows XP Professional
12 Set of cables and connectors
13 DA T.V. Coder
14 DAS Video Distribution amplifier
15 GIST Multilingual software
16 DAS Installation
17 DAS Application software
18 Application software for KIOSK
19 Online user voice recording microphone set
20 Web cam with recording and play facility

Advantages to the Farmers:

Information is available locally in local language.
Daily commodity prices and Arrivals information.
Interactive information on all activities of cultivation
Effective utilization of govt. schemes, subsidies, loans insurance.
Farmer education by audiovisual programmes.

99
 Expert advises to specific queries.

3. E-trading Solutions:

This proposal is aimed at improving the overall functioning of Agricultural Market

Committees in the District. The project is envisaged to computerize markets and
monitor operations by providing e-trading solutions (table 123 & 124).
Project is going to be developed with the support of National Informatics
Center (NIC).
Project Operation and maintenance and creation of minor terminal
infrastructure with the help of private vendor.
Incrementally, within a span or 3 to 4 months the project is going to be
implemented throughout the State of Andhra Pradesh.
Local operators are going to be selected.
For creating the minor terminal infrastructure as per the technical
specifications, the local operator can even rise loan from bank.
This is also an employment generation scheme.
The farmers shall be immensely benefited as intermediaries roles get
diminished.
The transaction time shall gets reduced.
Market Department officials shall be maintain up-to date and accurate
records of all the transaction easily without any capital investment.

5.11 Agricultural Credit

The number of credit institutions in Mahabubnagar district total up to 296. 135
commercial bank branches and 70 regional rural bank branches are dispensing
credit to farmers for agricultural purposes. Under the cooperative sector, 19
branches of cooperative banks lend to agriculture through 72 PACs spread over
through out the district (table 125).

In Mahabubnagar district, agricultural credit is provided by 72 PACs and 224 bank

branches. The total number of crop loan accounts in 2006-07 stood at 889910. An
amount of Rs.42711 lakh was outstanding from the farmers. The target for

100
disbursement of loans is set for Rs.113263 lakh in 2011-12. It represents an increase
of 165 per cent over the five years period (table 126).

The investment loans for agricultural development are targeted to increase from
Rs.42711 lakh in 2006-07 to Rs.139666 lakh in 2011-12. The agricultural
development loans are targeted to increase by 227% over the period of five years
(table 127).

Credit Flow: Credit is the most important input in Agriculture. Without this input,
farmers have difficulty in procuring other inputs. The financial institutions are
providing both crop and term loans to the extent of Rs. 321 crores, covering 1.25
lakh farmers during 2006-07 in the district (table 128).
5.12 Irrigation development
In Mahabubnagar District, there are two types of irrigation Projects.
I. Medium Irrigation: - There are five existing projects under Medium Irrigation.
1. Priyadarshini Jurala Project:- An extent of 40,200 ha is the registered as ayacut
under this project covering 8 mandals.
2. Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) canal:- An extent of 35000 ha is the
registered ayacut under this canal covering five mandals.
3. Koil sagar project:- An extent of 4,726 ha is the registered ayacut under this
project covering three mandals.
4. Ookasetty Vagu:-An extent of 2,089 ha is the registered ayacut in Atmakur
Mandal.
5. Saralasagar project:- An extent of 1690 ha is the registered ayacut in Kothakota
Mandal.
II. Minor Irrigation

There are 654 numbers of minor irrigation tanks and 5538 panchayat raj tanks in the
District. The registered ayacut of all these tanks is 77443 ha. A total of 29680 open
wells and 126370 bore wells are in operation with a registered ayacut of 99080
ha.Three minor irrigation projects are under construction with a registered ayacut of
3.01 lakh ha. Five lift irrigation schemes are under construction with a registered
ayacut of 8963 ha (table 129).

101
5.13 Projected outcome and growth rate during XI five year plan

Proposed sector wise growth rates

If all the interventions proposed are adequately funded, it is estimated that the
following growth rates will result in different sub-sectors of the broad agricultural
sector (table 130).

Table 130 Projected growth rates in different sectors

S.No. Sector 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Over five
year year year year year years
1 Agriculture 4.2 4.7 5.3 5.8 6.2 5.24
2 Horticulture 5.6 6.8 7.0 8.0 6.1 6.70
3 Sericulture 15.0 17.2 14.5 13.8 15.4 15.18
4 Animal Husbandry 9.5 9.9 10.7 11.8 12.5 10.88
5 Fisheries 7.4 15.0 14.4 13.8 13.2 12.72

102
 Chapter VI
District plan

6.1 Introduction
Mahabubnagar district is one of the most drought prone and problematic districts for
agricultural development. The rainfall in the district is quite low with a high variability
across locations and years. In terms of per capita income, Mahabubnagar district
ranks lowest in the state. The district is known for out migration of labor because of
lack of gainful employment opportunities. Low rainfall and poor soils limit the scope
for improvement in agriculture and allied sectors. The predominance of current
fallows points to the non-viability of agriculture. There was a shift in cropping pattern
of the district from jowar to maize in particular and from food to cash crops in
general. Maize and cash crops like cotton, castor etc fetch good prices because of
high demand for these products, but they are quite risky because their water
requirements are higher than crops like jowar, ragi, bajra etc which were replaced.
The risk of failure of crops has increased because of high variability in rainfall over
years and due to higher water requirements of cash crops. Because of non-viability
of agriculture and mounting debts, several farmers have commited suicides. The
Prime Minister relief package has come to the rescue of debt-ridden farmers by
writing-off of the interest accrued on the loans from institutions. The loan waiver
scheme recently announced by the government of India has erased the debt burden
on the farmers belonging to small and marginal categories. The National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has come to the rescue of agricultural labor in
the villages by providing work at higher wages. While these schemes have provided
temporary relief to the farmers and agricultural labor, their long term implications are
not good for agricultural sector.

The credit discipline of the farmers has suffered because relief is always provided to
those who do not repay their loans and not to those who paid, despite crop failures
and difficult economic situation. Expectations are built among the farmers that they
need not repay any loans because the government will always to the rescue of those
who do not repay loans. The implementation of NREGA has affected labor discipline
adversely by not insisting on normal working hours for the wages paid. The adverse
fall out of the populist schemes can only make agriculture less viable. But there are

103
some positive developments in agriculture in the recent years. The free power
scheme has reduced the cost of cultivation to some extent. Heavy investments that
are being made on irrigation projects are likely to increase the area under surface
and lift irrigation. Maize which is expanding its area has high potential, because of
the hybrid seeds available from private sector. The spread of Bt cotton has improved
the yields and reduced the unit costs to some extent. Several private sector agencies
have come to procure milk, vegetables, fruits, gherkins etc from the farmers directly
on contract basis and this has widened the scope of marketing the produce of
agriculture and allied sectors.

The land prices of even agricultural lands have gone up due to the impact of real
estate market. This phenomenon has provided mobility to the agricultural resources.
Some farmers who want to invest in other sectors are disposing-off their land and
shifting to other sectors. Those who expect further appreciation in land prices are
investing on it. With the land falling in to the hands of those who can invest on it, the
private investment in the agricultural sector of the district is likely to go up. It is in this
dynamic situation that the district agricultural plans are being prepared.

6.2 Growth drivers

Besides making use of opportunities available in the crop sector, a concerted effort is
needed to harness the potential for the development of horticulture, fisheries,
sericulture, dairy, small ruminants, rural industries etc should be maximized. All of
them can be the growth drivers in the district. These sectors have shown good
growth performance in the last decade and are expected to grow even faster in the
coming five years. With the rising demand for high value products like fruits,
vegetables, milk and meat products, eggs and silk, all these allied sectors are poised
for a fast growth in the district. With the recent increases in the prices of food grains,
even crop sector is likely to perform well in the coming few years. Area under
horticulture is increasing in the district. Due to fast growth of Hyderbad city,
Rangareddy district is developing in to a real estate hub. Most of the area under
vegetables in Rangareddy district is getting converted in to residential area. The
neighbouring Mahabubnagar district has ample scope to expand vegetable
cultivation to supply to the growing demand in Hyderabad. Similarly, the prospects

104
for floriculture and fruit orchards have also brightened. The only limitation is irrigation
water. The rice area has to be replaced with the cultivation of horticultural crops as
they are more remunerative than rice farming. The meat prices are increasing and
there is scope to increase the number of sheep and goats in the district due to the
availability of culturable waste and current fallows. There is also good scope for
expanding milk production and fish production in the district. Poultry industry is also
poised to grow fast because of conversion of poultry farms in Rangareddy district in
to real estate ventures. The enterprenuers may opt to establish poultry units in
Mahabubnagar district. With more surface irrigation projects, the water spread area
is increasing in the district and it can be used for fish production. Sericulture has a
potential to grow in selected pockets. Gadwal, Kothakota and Narayanapet are
known centers for textile and silk sarees. The processing activities can intensify in
the district and hence, there is good scope for the development of handlooms and
textiles in the district. A few special economic zones have been sanctioned and they
can accelerate the industrialization, particularly in Pharma and IT sectors. They is a
good scope for setting up small scale industries to service the larger industrial and
service sector projects. Heightened industrial activity will increase demand for
agricultural products and it may induce enterprenuers to make investments in
agriculture and allied sectors.

6.3 Innovative schemes

The schemes to improve the organic matter content in the soil and productivity of
crops are quite innovative. Although they involve substantial investments, the
schemes of green manuring and gypsum application in the irrigated areas of the
district are helpful both in the reclamation of the soils as well as in improving the
organic matter content in the soils along with the availability of both the macro as
well as the micro nutrients.

Similarly, the schemes to produce quality seed of rice, pulses and oil seeds through
seed village production program are also quite innovative. For the first time, a logical
link and sequence is established between the production and supply of nucleus,
breeder, foundation and certified types of crop varieties in the district. Dependence
on external sources for seed was causing serious bottlenecks in the supply of seed

105
to the farmers on time. The massive program of seed production will remove this
bottleneck and will contribute significantly to the producitivity of crop.

Farm mechanization is another innovative scheme. Many farmers migrate seasonally

to the urban centers like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and cities in Gujarat. It has
created acute labor scarcity in the rural areas. The National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act has been instrumental in improving the purchasing power of the
working class, but has also exerted an upward pressure on the wages. Under these
circumstances, mechanization has become inevitable. Helping the farmers through
subsidies in accessing the farm machinery and equipment is quite an innovative
scheme. Farmers can improve precision and minimize losses due to farm
mechanization.

The proposal to take up sima rouba plantations in marginal lands is another

innovative scheme. This tree can yield fruits from which bio-fuels can be produced.
The trials on the research stations have vindicated their economic viability on less
fertile lands. Some of these marginal lands are unable to yield viable crop yields and,
in that sense, does not involve much sacrifice and opportunity cost. With the oil
prices soaring in the international market, this tree crop holds enormous
opportunities for earning profits.

The scheme of model farmers is the most innovative scheme to bridge the extension
gap effectively. Even with some increase in the extension manpower, it is literally not
possible to reach all the farmers and transfer the technologies to them. Farmers also
need someone locally to whom they can look at as a friend and guide. These model
farmers will have opportunities to imbibe the latest technologies from the scientists
and extension workers. They can effectively transmit the information to other
farmers. Since they are provided with some honorarium to cover their expenses,
they can serve as an effective link between extension officers and farmers.
Drip irrigation is another innovative scheme to improve water use efficiency in a
water scarce environment. Its potential was not capitalized in the district. The
present scheme of using drip sets in the cultivation of vegetables and fruits are quite
an innovative and profitable investment. In rabi groundnut, there is a good scope for
sprinkler irrigation to obtain maximum returns per unit of water.

106
Scheme to expand area under grape and guava is another innovative method of
developing horticulture in the district. Both these fruit crops are drought resistant and
are quite efficient in production under water scarce conditions. With sweet orange,
pomogranate and papaya already doing well in the district, this promotion of guava
and ber is timely and effective.

Supply of hybrid seeds of vegetables is another innovative scheme. The productivity

of vegetables can be increased easily by 20 to 50% by adopting hybrid varities of
vegetables. The yields of vegetables are quite low in the district and with the new
initiative, they are likely to go up. It will improve the economic viability of vegetable
cultivation in the district.

Induction of milch animals and heifer calves is quite an innovative scheme. It is being
tried on a substantive scale. The productivity of local milch animals is quite low and
their response to good feed and fodder management is not economical. By inducting
milch animals with higher potential, there is a scope to achieve a break through in
milk production in the district. While the induction of milch animals will contribute to
increase in milk production immediately, the induction of heifer calves will ensure the
increase in milk production in the future. Better health care and insurance coverage
will complete the package to increase profits and to cover risks. Since the animals
are being supplied on 50% subsidy by tying them up with bank loans for the
remaining amount, insurance coverage is automatically there.

Provision of bulk milk cooling centers at five locations in the district is another
innovative scheme. The induction of milch animals is likely to create surpluses in
milk production, which need to be procured and stored under hygienic conditions.
Availability of milk cooling centers will reduce the chances of spoilage of milk and
helps in processing it locally.

Establishing fish markets at important locations in the district and opening retail
outlets will help the fishermen and farmers to get better prices for their produce.
Certainly, creation of markets will increase the demand for fish and will reduce the
losses and transaction costs. Both the producers and consumers will benefit from
this initiative.

107
Although, the support to sericulture is quite limited under RKVY, the schemes
proposed by the department are quite innovative. They are contributing to the
development of the sericulture both on farm and non-farm sectors.

The program of Jalayagnam has raised the hopes of the farmers about agriculture.
Expansion of surface irrigation will contribute to the increase in ground water. It will
help in the conjunctive use of both surface and ground water. This program will make
a substantial difference to farming in the district.

Marketing is the essence of agriculture. Realization of a remunerative price and

cutting down the marketing costs are important to keep the interests of both the
producers and consumers safe from the exploitation by middlemen. Creation of more
marketing infrastructure will cut down the costs of transportation and the time
needed for marketing. The massive program for expansion of marketing
infrastructure will help in farmers realizing better prices for their produce.

Strengthening of rural credit will facilitate the adoption of new technologies. The
recent loan waiver has reduced the debt burden of the farmers. They can start from
a clean slate and obtain fresh loans both for crop production and development. This
substantial expansion of credit targets for the next five years will reduce the depence
of farmers on non-institutional sources of credit at high and usurious rates of interest.

6.4 Vision of the XI plan

Obviously the vision of XI plan is to accelerate rate of growth in agricultural sector. It

was noted that the growth rates in agriculture have always lagged behind those in
non-agricultural sectors. But the gap between them has certainly widened after the
introduction of new economic policies in the early 90s of twentieth century. The
investment in agriculture has declined. The public investment declined because of
the imperative need to keep down the fiscal deficit and the need to increase the input
subsidies. The output prices have lagged behind the growth in input prices and
wages. It has caused a reduction in the rate of return on the investments in
agriculture. Due to this reason, the private investment also stagnated. There were
signs of growing indebtedness among the farmers, which has erupted in to suicides

108
by some farmers in the predominantly rainfed districts like Mahabubnagar. Suddenly,
it was discovered that agriculture is in crisis.

With fast rate of growth in the economy, other sectors of economy were blooming
and agriculture was diagnosed as the only sector lagging behind and needing
immediate attention. While the economy is growing at nine per cent, the growth in
agriculture sector oscillated between 3 to +5 %, with the medium term growth
recording less than two per cent. The national commission on farmers headed by
Dr.M.S Swaminathan has dissected the sickness of agriculture and called for an
immediate increase in the investments on agriculture to stimulate growth in it. The
RKVY is a response and reflection to the report prepared by the commission led by
Dr.M.S Swaminathan.

It was found that the share of agriculture in the national GDP is rapidly declining in
the last decade. For a long time, the government of India was targeting a 4% growth
in the agricultural sector. But it consistently faltered by ending up around two per
cent. The Vision 2020 document prepared by government of Andhra Pradesh nearly
a decade ago has aimed even at 6% growth in the agricultural sector of the state.
But these wishful dreams and schemes were not backed by necessary investments
and policies. The farmers in the state have lost hope in farming due to rising costs,
stagnant output prices and widening gaps between agricultural and non-agricultural
sectors. Many young farmers find it difficult to get a bride and farming has become a
loosing and dis-respectful profession.

In this backdrop, the RKVY has come as a beacon of light. The state government
has advised the agricultural and allied departments to think it big and plan for
substantial investments in these sectors. There is also a determination on the part of
young farmers in the villages to voice their aspirations for growth and equity. The
project teams, which studied the constraints faced by agriculture quite in-depth, have
highlighted the problems of diminishing organic matter content and declining water
table. It is no more an easy solution to raise productivity by applying more fertilizer.
Infact, the response to fertilizer has come down from about 20 kg per kg of N-P-K to
about 8 kg. The long neglect of agriculture has made it necessary to invest more for
solving both the long term and short-term problems of agriculture.

109
The combined vision of the farmers and planners has resulted in the preparation of
ambitious and innovative schemes for the development of agriculture. It is significant
that the district plan for Mehabubnagar district has come out with such investment
needs, which cannot be met by the existing budgets of the department and what
RKVY can offer through project funding. More resources are needed through other
schemes to make that one big investment effort needed to accelerate the growth in
agricultural sector. The vision of XI plan cannot be fully understood by looking at the
numbers of physical targets and financial investments projected, but it should be
seen as a document that reflects the aspirations and hope of the farmers. Besides
growth, it also seeks to re-assert the honor and pride of farming profession.

6.5 District plan

The interventions proposed, the investment required and the expected benefit-cost
ratios are summarized in table 131 along with the effects on environment and quality
of products. Although the investment requirements are high, the benefits far
outweigh the costs. It paves the way for a faster development of agriculture and
allied sectors in the district.

The total investment proposed adds up to Rs. 47478.86 lakh as per the CDAP
prepared for 11th plan. The crop sector has the maximum proposed investment
followed by horticulture sector. Marketing sector investments are also substantial. In
a relative sense, investments in animal husbandry, sericulture and fisheries sub
sectors are relatively lower.
Proposed investments in different sectors under CDAP during 11 th plan (Rs.in
lakh)
S.No. Sector Investments
1. Agriculture 30026.00
2. Horticulture 2391.52
3. Sericulture 204.22
4. Animal Husbandry 5084.62
5. Fisheries 1118.50
6. Marketing 8654.00
Total 47478.86

By making these investments, it is expected that the growth rates will accelerate
substantially. Field crop sector is expected grow at a rate of 5.24 % per year. The

110
highest growth rate is targeted in case of sericulture at 15.18% per year. Fisheries
sector is expected to grow at 12.72% per year. Relatively, the horticulture sector is
expected to grow at the rate of 6.7% per year.

Projected growth rates in different sectors

S.No. Sector 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Over five
year year year year year years
1 Agriculture 4.2 4.7 5.3 5.8 6.2 5.24
2 Horticulture 5.6 6.8 7.0 8.0 6.1 6.70
3 Sericulture 15.0 17.2 14.5 13.8 15.4 15.18
4 Animal Husbandry 9.5 9.9 10.7 11.8 12.5 10.88
5 Fisheries 7.4 15.0 14.4 13.8 13.2 12.72

Monitoring mechanism proposed

A sound Monitoring Information System has to be developed based on sectoral

interventions and expected outputs to review and track the progress. A baseline data
like income of the different categories of the farmers, yield of different crops, sectoral
growth rates etc. may be generated to measure the quantitative and qualitative
changes resulting of the proposed interventions. Quarterly review meetings
becomes a part of monitoring system over and above the reports received, registers
maintained, field visits by concerned personnel. Based on the mid-term evaluation by
the external agency, the change of the targets and inter-sectoral adjustments will be
made.

Social audit about the funds available and utilized under major schemes, periodical
physical progress and highlighting deviations and deficiencies is proposed to carried
out at gram Panchayat level. The proposed social audit facilitates publicity on status
of the implementation and maintains transparency.

******

111
 List of tables in Annexure

Reclamation of Problematic soils Gypsum application

Gypsum application for Ground nut crop
Supply of green manure seed to rice growers
Application of Zinc sulphate to rice, pulses and oilseeds
Conjunctive use of ground water in tail-end project areas
Supply of sprinklers for pulse and oil seed crops
Diversification of rain fed areas through Simarouba plantations
Establishment of new fruit gardens
Rejuvenation of old gardens
Integrated garden management in Sweet orange
Drip irrigation for horticultural crops
Sericulture project with all components
Fisheries project with all components
Foot and mouth vaccination program
Calf induction program
Health care to sheep and goats
Perennial fodder production including Chaff cutter supply
Induction of high yielding milch animals