Changing preferences of farmers and their slow yet steady shift from traditional crops to the more lucrative crops, is reflected in the targets fixed by the Agriculture Department for the kharif season in Kalaburagi district for the year 2015-16.
Unlike the previous years when the department used to increase the area under red gram cultivation on a regular basis, there has been a marked reduction in the targets for red gram this year.
At the same time, a significant increase is seen in the area under commercial crops such as cotton and soyabean, and plantation crops such as banana and papaya.
According to the Agriculture Department’s targets for the current year, the area under red gram — which used to be the mainstay of farmers in the drought-prone Kalaburagi district at around 4 lakh hectares — has come down to 3.59 lakh hectares compared with 3.62 lakh hectares fixed last year.
Similarly the area under black gram has come down from 38,000 hectares in 2014-15 to 25,500 hectares this year and the area under the green gram has come down from 20,200 hectares to 18,000 hectares.
In the current year, the cumulative area target fixed for kharif crops is 5.70 lakh hectares, with a production target of 26.96 lakh tonnes. The area under foodgrain has been fixed at 4.36 lakh hectares as against 4.55 lakh hectares last year and the production target has been fixed at 4.65 lakh tonnes.
The area under cotton has gone from 34,500 hectares during 2014-15 to 50,475 hectares this year, and the area under soyabean has been increased from 14,000 hectares last year to 20,325 hectares. The target fixed for coverage under oilseeds was 53,240 hectares, with a production target of 68,923 tonnes this year.
An increase in the irrigation network in the district has also helped in the shift from the traditional crops to other crops.
Target area under red gram down to 3.59 lakh hectares from 3.62 lakh hectares last year
Area under cotton up to 50,475 hectares this year from 34,500 hectares in 2014-15
