Farmers seek extension of Rs 500 fine rice bonus to alternative crops in Telangana

Hyderabad: With the Congress government urging farmers to shift to alternative crops during the Yasangi season due to water and power shortages, farmers’ organisations are demanding that the Rs 500 bonus offered for fine rice varieties be extended to alternative crops.

The demand comes amid the government’s repeated appeals to farmers to avoid paddy cultivation, which requires large quantities of water. Instead, the government wants farmers to cultivate less water-intensive crops, particularly fodder crops, to cope with the prevailing scarcity.
Farmers’ organisations argue that merely appealing to farmers to switch crops would not yield the desired results unless the government offers financial incentives.

Currently, the State government offers a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal for fine rice varieties. However, unlike previous year, the bonus was restricted to just seven fine rice varieties last season.

Last year, the government claimed to have disbursed Rs 1,199 crore to 4.41 lakh farmers towards the bonus. In the 2026-27 annual budget, it allocated Rs.3,500 crore for the paddy bonus scheme.

With the bonus now restricted to seven varieties, the expenditure under the scheme is expected to decline substantially during the Vanakalam season.

Farmers’ organisations argue that since the government is discouraging paddy cultivation, the funds saved on the bonus should be diverted to farmers cultivating pulses, vegetables, fodder and other alternative crops.

Citing the Maharashtra government’s special incentives for fodder cultivation, farmers are demanding a similar initiative in Telangana during the Yasangi season.

Rythu Swarajya Vedika convenor B Kondal Reddy said mere appeals to farmers to avoid paddy cultivation and switch to alternative crops would not suffice. “The government needs to increase incentives for the cultivation of pulses, vegetables and other less water-intensive crops,” he demanded.

Pointing to the crop patterns in different districts, he said farmers in Vikarabad extensively cultivated red gram, while cotton was grown on a large scale in Adilabad. Similarly, chilli cultivation was widespread in the erstwhile Khammam and Warangal districts, while groundnut was predominantly cultivated in the erstwhile Mahabubnagar district.

If the government genuinely wanted farmers to shift to these crops, it should divert the Rs 500 bonus currently offered for fine rice varieties to alternative crop cultivation, he insisted.

Kondal Reddy also highlighted the shortage of vegetables in Telangana and the State’s dependence on supplies from neighbouring States.

According to estimates, Telangana requires 34.67 million metric tonnes of vegetables annually. However, the State produces only 11.17 million metric tonnes, with the remaining requirement met through imports from other States.

“There is a severe shortage of vegetables in the State. If the government offers a bonus, farmers might consider taking up horticulture crops,” he stressed.