Little room left for greens

Hyderabad: Vegetarians are facing the heat with the rising prices of vegetables as people around the globe celebrate World Vegetarian Day.

High prices, diminishing quality of vegetables and sudden dip in the production in and around Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts are adding to the misery of vegetarians.

Rapid industrialisation leaves little space for horticulture and agriculture around Hyderabad and other cities. Most vegetables are now brought from far off Madanapalle, Bengaluru and other places, leaving vegetarians with fewer options.

Currently in Telangana, a total of 10.86 lakh hectare of area is under horticulture crops, 3.47 lakh hectare is under vegetables, 4.26 lakh hectares under fruits, 2.71 lakh hectares under spices and the rest under oil palm and other crops.

Mr K. Venugopal, president of the Telangana Horticulture Employees Association said that the government must equally promote horticulture among farmers and set up of small cold storage units at all Rythu Bazaars.

“Our major focus is to improve vegetable and fruits as there is a huge demand for vegetables in Hyderabad and we have scarcity, which is causing the price rise. If we have to meet this demand, we have to improve the area under vegetables and also need area expansion. We must also increase production per unit in the existing areas by using scientific methods like building green houses or shed net houses, drip irrigation and use of three rotational crops a year.

“In and around  Hyderabad, gourds and tomatoes are favoured and these can be cultivated using many traditional techniques,” he adds.

For additional area expansion, he said that the government must look at Vikarabad, Tandur, Chevella and other barren lands. “All the proposed zones, including Ranga Reddy, are covered and since irrigation in the area has increased, several villages are saturated. The major problem is that farmers give up quickly. Only after a year can one   analyse the efficiency and productivity of the crop.

Mango, banana, papaya, sweet orange and vegetables all have only 60 per cent rate of survival. Only continuous efforts for a minimum period of  10 years will yield results but 50 per cent survival may be attained after five years,” he said.

He also added that every farmer needed to be aware of market trends and prices. Mr Venugopal also mentioned that nursery activities had to be increased in Telangana.

An expert horticulturist, Dr Veerabhadra Rao, who is also a senior principal scientist at Centre for Cellular and Mole-cular Biology (CCMB) said, “Vegetables, especially gourds, must be cultivated in Ranga Reddy, Nalgonda and Medak. At least 15-20 per cent of productivity should be from Telangana. With middlemen increasing, the quality is decreasing. Many farmers only grow paddy, and have never been encouraged to grow other vegetables.” Of late, people prefer their own vegetable garden. “There is a lot of happiness in raising your own vegetables,” said Dr Rao.