HYDERABAD: The Telangana Agriculture Department has finalised its action plan for the kharif 2025 season, targeting cultivation across 1.31 crore acres statewide. With a renewed focus on fine paddy, the department anticipates significant farmer participation, bolstered by the ₹500 per quintal bonus which has raised awareness about crop profitability.
Paddy is expected to dominate with a cultivation target of 66.80 lakh acres, followed by cotton at 50 lakh acres—both forming the backbone of the state’s monsoon crop strategy.
Additional targets include maize over 5.40 lakh acres and red gram on 5.10 lakh acres. Chilli will be grown on 1.90 lakh acres, soybean on 4.10 lakh acres, green gram across 65,000 acres, and black gram on 28,000 acres.
To support this scale of farming, the department plans to make available 16.70 lakh quintals of paddy seed, 0.48 lakh quintals of maize seed, 95 lakh cotton seed packets, and 1.35 lakh quintals of soybean seed. The increasing preference for fine rice has led to efforts to ensure an ample supply of appropriate seeds.
Negligible focus on millets and minor crops
Despite national emphasis on millet cultivation, the state’s kharif plan shows limited focus on coarse grains and oilseeds. Groundnut cultivation is expected over just 26,000 acres, sesame on 650 acres, sunflower on 150 acres, and safflower on 3,600 acres.
Millet acreage is also expected to remain low, with sorghum covering 39,000 acres and pearl millet only 1,200 acres.
In comparison, the previous rabi season saw crops grown across 78 lakh acres. Paddy accounted for 59 lakh acres, maize 9 lakh acres, groundnut 2.2 lakh acres, and chickpea 1.7 lakh acres.
Crop insurance preparation begins
Simultaneously, groundwork has begun to roll out crop insurance schemes for the kharif season. Under the yield-based insurance scheme, crops like paddy, maize, red gram, black gram, soybean, groundnut, chickpea, and sesame will be covered.
Premium contributions for farmers will be 2% during kharif, 1.5% in rabi, and 5% for commercial horticulture crops. The remaining premium burden will be shared equally by the central and state governments.
Additionally, weather-based insurance will be applicable for cotton, chilli, mango, oil palm, tomato, and sweet lime. Agriculture department officials said policy frameworks for these schemes are being finalised to ensure timely implementation.