Abstract

Andhra Pradesh, in the southeast of India, has a robust agricultural economy.

Agriculture is crucial to the state's economy since it provides jobs for a large
percentage of the people, ensures a steady supply of affordable food, and helps
rejuvenate rural areas. A wide variety of crops and agricultural practices are well-
suited to the region's fertile terrain, diverse climate, and advanced irrigation
infrastructure. Andhra Pradesh has become an important role in India's agricultural
scene owing to its long history of farming and its adoption of progressive farming
practices.

Andhra Pradesh is divided into seven Agro-climatic zones. The Kurnool

district is identified under the scarce rainfall zone (VI) with an annual rainfall of 500
to 750 mm. More than 80% of the agricultural area is under rainfed farming systems.
The average rainfall received in Kurnool district is approximately 670 mm. The South
West Monsoon and North East Monsoon supply nearly all of the annual rainfall (68%
and 22%, respectively). Rainfall in Kurnool district is mostly erratic, insufficient and
unevenly distributed. Hence, droughts or floods are a common problem in the district.

agriculture in the Kurnool district is predominantly a "fallow-chickpea"

cropping system. The major crops grown in the district are chickpea, groundnuts,
sunflower, rice, sorghum, cotton, pigeonpea, black gram, and onions. Over the last
twenty years, there has been significant shift in crops grown. Low rainfall, labor
scarcity, increasing wage rates, and a lack of available irrigation sources has
encouraged farmers to farm water efficient rainfed crops that require minimal labor.
As a result, the amount of land dedicated to chickpea, groundnuts, and sunflower has
increased.
 Chapter-1
Introduction
1.1 Importance of Agriculture in Andhra Pradesh

Agriculture in Andhra Pradesh plays a vital role in economic growth, food security,
employment generation, rural development, and sustainable livelihoods. Agriculture
holds immense importance in Andhra Pradesh for several reasons:

Economic Contribution:

Agriculture is a major contributor to the state's economy, providing employment and

livelihood opportunities to a significant portion of the population. It contributes to the
state's GDP and plays a vital role in rural development.

Food Security:

Agriculture ensures food security by producing an ample supply of staple crops like
rice, millets, and pulses, which are essential for meeting the dietary needs of the
population. It helps in reducing dependence on food imports and stabilizes food
prices.

Livelihood Support:

Agriculture serves as a primary source of income for a large number of farmers and
agricultural laborers in the state. It supports rural livelihoods and helps in reducing
poverty by providing employment opportunities in farming and related sectors.

Export Potential:

Andhra Pradesh is known for its horticultural crops, such as mangoes, citrus fruits,
and bananas, which have significant export potential. Agriculture contributes to
earning foreign exchange through the export of agricultural products, thereby
boosting the state's economy.

Rural Development:

Agriculture plays a vital role in rural development by fostering economic growth in

rural areas. It creates a demand for various support services and infrastructure,
including irrigation facilities, agricultural machinery, storage facilities, transportation
networks, and market linkages, which contribute to overall rural development.

Sustainable Development:

Agriculture in Andhra Pradesh is increasingly adopting sustainable practices, such as

organic farming, water-efficient irrigation systems, and conservation of soil health.
These practices help in preserving the environment, maintaining ecological balance,
and ensuring the long-term sustainability of agricultural activities.

Crop Diversity:

The state's diverse agro-climatic zones allow for the cultivation of a wide variety of
crops. This diversity not only enhances the resilience of the agricultural system but
also provides opportunities for farmers to diversify their income sources and mitigate
risks associated with mono-cropping.

Employment Generation:

Agriculture provides direct and indirect employment opportunities in farming, agro-

processing industries, agricultural research, extension services, marketing, and
transportation sectors. It helps in reducing rural-urban migration and promotes
balanced regional development.

Social Stability:

Agriculture forms the backbone of rural communities, preserving cultural heritage and
traditional knowledge related to farming practices. It fosters social stability by
promoting a sense of community, cooperation, and interdependence among farmers.

Agricultural Research and Innovation:

Andhra Pradesh has established agricultural research institutes and centers of

excellence that focus on developing new crop varieties, improving farming
techniques, and addressing challenges faced by farmers. These research efforts
contribute to technological advancements and knowledge dissemination in the
agricultural sector.
Agriculture in Kurnool District:

In particular, the study focuses on the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh,

India. The main occupation and source of livelihood for this district is agriculture.
More than 70% of the 4.04 million people in the Kurnool district engage in farming.
Kurnool is predominantly farmed via rainfed agriculture. The majority of the farm
households follow a "fallow-chickpea" cropping system.

In this study, farming households are divided into two categories and are examined as:
low rainfall region, and medium/high rainfall region. These categories are determined
by amount of annual precipitation as well as ease of access to alternate irrigation
sources. The low rainfall regions, located in the western part of Kurnool district,
average less than 500 mm of rainfall per year. Agriculture here is rainfed; there are no
irrigation sources like canals, rivers, or open wells in the region. In the medium and
high rainfall regions, located in the eastern part of Kurnool, annual rainfall averages
between 700-800 mm. These regions also contain canal water sources that can be used
for irrigation.

All climate models used in this study predict the Kurnool district will average higher
(warmer) temperatures in the 2050s. The higher emission scenarios project warmer
temperatures than the lower emission scenarios. Additionally, compared to current
climate, both the moderate and high emissions futures predict more precipitation in
wet scenarios and less precipitation in drier scenarios compared to the current levels
in the crop-growing season (post rainy season; June to November). Though all
projections generally predict increased rainfall, there is clear variation across models:
3%-27% higher rainfall under the mid-range climate scenario, and 6%-40% higher
rainfall across five climate scenarios.

The impact of climate change on the Kurnool district's rainfed agriculture

suggests negative impacts to the fallow-chickpea farming system in pessimistic
climate scenarios (i.e. hot-dry) and positive impacts in optimistic climate scenarios
(cool-wet). Categorically, it is clear that the impacts of climate change are
comparatively higher in the high rainfall region than in the low rainfall region. Future
projections suggest that increased precipitation in the low rainfall regions will more
significantly increase chickpea yields than the adverse impacts from higher
temperature. More precipitation following the rainy season will increase soil moisture
and decrease risk of drought and yield loss.

Findings suggest that the majority of fallow-chickpea farm households are

vulnerable (64% in warmer climate and 48% in wet climate) to climate change under
current production systems. However, climate impacts vary across the region. For
example, the pessimistic climate scenario (hot and dry) suggests farmers in high
rainfall regions will be considerable more vulnerable than low rainfall region farmers.
The negative impacts of chickpea yields in warmer climate scenarios will be more
significant in the high rainfall region than in the low rainfall region.

A large proportion of the farming population can benefit from adopting

current ‘climate-smart' adaptations and can help shift a significant percentage of the
population from vulnerable status to resilient status. The package includes
interventions such as promoting location specific varieties (short duration variety in
low rainfall region and medium duration variety in high rainfall region), providing
critical irrigation using harvested rainwater, using recommended fertilizer application,
introducing a new crop (foxtail millet) during the kharif season to enhance the system
productivity, and adopting mechanical harvesters to reduce harvesting cost.

When future adaptation efforts are considered, models suggest chickpea yields
will decrease under warmer climate scenarios but increase under wet scenarios.
Economic impacts vary as well; warm scenarios predict aggregate negative impacts
(more than 60% of households is projected to be vulnerable), while wet scenarios
predict aggregate positive economic impacts (less than 50% of households is
projected to be vulnerable). Comparatively, a lower percentage of farm households
are vulnerable in the future when compared to today. This is because although warmer
climates will reduce the total chickpea yield, prices will most likely be higher in the
future – due to lower chickpea availability. This will therefore offset the negative
impacts on yield.

Despite the aggregate outcomes, there are subpopulations of farms that may remain
vulnerable in the future. In particular, farms located in areas with high maize potential
are at significant risk of negative economic impacts. Maize is predicted to have
significant yield reductions in the hot/dry climate scenarios. High maize potential
areas are heavily reliant on maize for income and predicted future prices do not
benefit the farmer.

The majority of farmers in the Kurnool region can significantly benefit from adopting
intervention packages in the future. The adaptation package includes improved
cultivars, micro irrigation systems with improved water use efficiency, and the
application of fertilizer alternatives. The changes in maize management will increase
yields and offset the negative impacts from climate change.

Chickpea farm in Kurnool

Crops are cultivated during the kharif (rainy) season from June-October, and
the rabi (post-rainy) season from November to February. The major crops grown in
rainy season are paddy, cotton and pigeonpea. In post-rainy season, chickpea,
sorghum and sunflower are predominantly grown. Because black soils make it
difficult to cultivate during the rainy season, the ‘fallow-chickpea' cropping system is
the dominant cropping system. Additionally, most of the farm household rear
livestock in the backyard and the most common livestock are buffaloes, cow, sheep
and goat. The farmers feed the livestock with crop residues and also graze the
livestock in the common lands in the dry season.
Agricultural Resources in the Kurnool District

Remote sensing technology has been successfully used by APSAC during the last two
decades in the areas of agriculture both in spatial and temporal domain under various
projects. APSAC carried out in-season forecasting of acreage for major crops i.e.
Kharif rice, Rabi rice, cotton, groundnut etc, at state/ district level for the last two
decades in Andhra Pradesh to enable the administrators and planners to take strategic
decisions on import-export policy matters and trade negotiations. Rice and Cotton are
the most dominant crops in Andhra Pradesh. In this connection, Department of
Agriculture and Directorate of Economics & Statistics are generating data on
conventional methods for estimation of crop area and production. In this regard,
satellite remote sensing plays a pivotal role with limited field visits for timely for
estimation and monitoring the crops.

3.1 Agriculture and Soils Kurnool District is rich in regur and red ferruginous soils
which constitute about 60 and 40 per cent, respectively. They are further classified as
clay, loamy and sandy soils. The black cotton soils are predominant in the Mandals of
Pattikonda, Nandyal, Allagadda, Koilkuntla, Nandikotkur and Adoni. In the Eastern
part of the district, red soil of a poor quality largely predominates. These soils,
although generally poor in fertility, yield a very good crop with a minimum rainfall.
The crops mainly raised are Jowar, cotton and pulses. Regur soil of superior quality is
available in the central section together with Kurnool and Pattikonda Mandals. It
responds well for paddy and Bengal gram. The availability of alluvial soil is quite
small and is confined to a few villages near the confluence of the Bhavanasi and
Krishna Rivers. It generally suits for raising mustard, wheat and black gram which are
valuable products shown in fig: 11 and 12
 Soil Resource Map of Kurnool District

Salt Affected Soil Map of Kurnool District

Kharif Rice Estimation using SAR data

Andhra Pradesh Space Applications Centre (APSAC) has carried out Kharif rice crop
acreage estimation over Kurnool district using Microwave Remote Sensing (Sentinel-
1A) data under FASAL project. Sentinel-1A Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) VV
polarization data (Spatial Resolution 20m) is used for the analysis. The rice acreage
using sentinel-1 microwave remote sensing data for Kurnool district was estimated as
49,853 ha

Kharif and Rabi crop acreage Estimation using Optical Remote sensing data:

Remote sensing technology has been successfully used by APSAC during the last two
decades in the areas of agriculture both in spatial and temporal domain under various
projects. APSAC carried out in-season forecasting of acreage for major crops i.e.
Kharif rice, Rabi rice, cotton, groundnut etc, at state/ district level for the last two
decades in Andhra Pradesh to enable the administrators and planners to take strategic
decisions on import-export policy matters and trade negotiations. Rice is the most
dominant crop in Andhra Pradesh in both Kharif (July- October /November) Rabi
(November- April) seasons which grows in irrigated and rain-fed areas and other
major crops are Groundnut, Cotton, Maize, Pulses, Sugarcane, Jowar, Chillies, etc. In
this connection, Department of Agriculture and Directorate of Economics and
Statistics are generating data on conventional methods for estimation of crop area and
production. In this regard, satellite remote sensing plays a pivotal role with limited
field visits for timely for estimation and monitoring the crops.

Fruits and vegetables account for nearly 90% of total horticulture production
in the country. India is now the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the
world and is the leader in several horticultural crops, namely mango, banana, papaya,
cashew-nuts, areca nut, potato and okra. However the nature of horticulture crops
being such it’s not easy to make assessment of their production. These crops,
especially vegetables are grown in small plots, fields or in the backyards of the houses
and do not have single harvesting in most of the cases which makes their assessment
difficult. Many horticulture crops have multiple pickings in a single season. Similarly
many fruit trees are scattered, which do not count for assessment. High quality of
products in some of the horticulture crops like ber, date palm, pomegranate, chillies,
cumin, isabgol, curcubits and superior quality products can be obtained in arid region.
There is tremendous scope for developing high value products from the indigenous
produce such as capparis, cucumis and from the other commercial arid horticulture
crops. As a result of research for the last two decades, considerable knowledge in arid
horticulture has been accumulated. Some of the horticulture crops (e.g. ber, aonla and
bael) have been identified which can be grown easily on a wide area of arid climatic
conditions. These crops will form an important component along with the component
crops of new and efficient cropping system in the arid regions. In the arid zone, the
population is scarce and scattered. The communication and transportation system was
poor in past time. But modern information technologies and transportation means and
methods offer good scope for the development of arid horticulture. The modern
communication/information and transport facilities will help in disseminating the
modern technologies of arid horticulture to the farmers and collecting the technical
information from different parts of the country as well as arid zone horticulture of the
world. Thus, modern communication and transportation facilities encourage and
widen the future scope of arid horticulture. The arid horticulture is a new area of the
horticulture development and it has a great potential for the future development. In
last two decades, considerable knowledge has been accumulated in the field of arid
horticulture and it has already assumed a great importance for the development of the
vast drought prone and arid zone agriculture of India. Arid horticulture has a great and
wide scope in future in developing unproductive soil into productive soil of the arid
zone. It provides tremendous opportunities for employment and income generation to
the poor people of arid regions and reducing soil erosion and aridity. Area statistics in
hectares and production in metric tonnes of six types of horticultural species/
categories are collected for Kurnool District from the Department of Horticulture,
Govt. of Andhra Pradesh for 2017-2018. They are fresh fruits, vegetables, plantations,
spices, flowers, and medicinal & aromatic plants and the information is presented in
Tables 6-10. In each Table, the breakup of each horticultural variety is given in terms
of aerial extent (ha) and production (MT).
 Chapter-2
Procedure Followed
1. Our group is divided into individual members and went to our selected

villages.

2. We got permission from sarpanch to do survey in villages.

3. We started gather information about the agriculture from the farmers of the

selected villages.

4. Gathered information regarding soil condition, rainfall, availability of water

for agriculture, availability of electricity to pump the water to agricultural

lands.

5. Gathered information about the main type of crops grown in the selected

villages.

6. Gathered information regarding the usage of pesticides or following organic

farming etc..

7. Gathered information regarding the quality of seeds.

8. Gathered information regarding the usage of modern machinery in

agriculture.
 Chapter-3
Major findings of the study

As per Mines Department

It is observed that there are twelve types of fresh fruits available in Kurnool
District. The total aerial extent of fresh fruits cultivated in Kurnool District is
15849.705 ha with a production of 434026.43 metric tonnes. Among all the fresh fruit
varieties, Mango has the maximum aerial extent of 8269 ha with a production of
115762 MT followed by Banana with an aerial extent of 3370 ha with a production of
185350 MT.

It is observed that 26 varieties of plantations are grown in Kurnool District.

The total aerial extent of plantations cultivated in Kurnool District is 57735 ha with a
production of 2119025 metric tonnes. Among all the plantation varieties, Onion has
the maximum aerial extent of 32502 ha with a production of 795002 MT followed by
Beans with an aerial extent of 5304 ha with a production of 83272 MT.

It is observed that 5 varieties of spices are grown in Kurnool District. The total
aerial extent of spices cultivated in Kurnool District is 34814 ha with a production of
184114.9 metric tonnes. Among all the varieties of spices, Chillies (Dried) has the
maximum aerial extent of 25153 ha with a production of 155668 MT followed by
Ajwan with an aerial extent of 6137 ha with a production of 6137 MT.

It is observed that 07 varieties of flowers grown are in Kurnool District. The

total aerial extent of flowers cultivated in Kurnool District is 2094 ha with a
production of 18273 metric tonnes. Among all the flower varieties, Crossandra has the
maximum aerial extent of 658 ha with a production of 2171 MT followed by Jasmine
with an aerial extent of 540 ha with a production of 3402 MT

It is observed that one variety of Medicinal & Aromatic Plant is in Kurnool

District. The total aerial extent of Medicinal & Aromatic Plant cultivated in Kurnool
District is 2329 ha with a production of 1165 metric tonnes.
 Questionnaire Survey on Crop Rotation in Selected Villages

1. Name of the Farmer …………………………………………

2. Age of the farmer: ............. years old
3. Gender: .............................
4. Village/Location:
5. Current size of farmer’s household (Current number of people living in your
house): ......... persons
6. Educational level of the farmer
 Less than elementary level (Illiterate)
 Elementary to less than high school
 High school Two years college
 University or above
7. Farmer’s experience in agriculture (years):

a. Farmer’s experience in farming in general: ....................................... years

b. Farmer’s experience in fruit and vegetable cultivation: ...................... years
8. How do you preserve soil fertility?
 Fertilisation (Chemicals, animal manure, green manure etc)
 Crop rotation (Cultivation of a series of dissimilar types of crops in the
same area in sequential seasons)
 Intercropping (Cultivation of two or more dissimilar types of crops in
the same area in the same season)
 Tillage
 Other
(specify): ..................................................................................................
.....
9. How do you control weeds?
 By burning plant residues after harvesting.
 By grazing through animals.
 By mechanical weeding (tillage, mowing and/or manual). By crop
rotation and/or intercropping
 By chemical herbicides
10. Have you ever heard about ‘organic farming’?
 Yes
 No
11. What types of crops grown in your village
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
12. To whom do sell your products?
 Directly to consumers
 Retailers
 Wholesalers
 Exporters
 Processors
 Governmental corporation for storage and marketing of agricultural
products
 Selling through Damman
 Other(specify): ........................................................................................
.................
 Issues Raised

Seeds
A seed is an essential and fundamental ingredient to increase crop yields and maintain
steady growth in agricultural output. The distribution of seeds of guaranteed quality is
just as important as their manufacture. Unfortunately, for the farmers, affording high-
quality seeds due to the high cost of superior seeds is one of the major challenges of
Indian agriculture.

Fertilisers and Manures

For thousands of years, crops have been grown on Indian soils without any concern
for replenishment. This has caused soils to become exhausted and depleted, which has
decreased their yield. Nearly all crops have some of the lowest average yields on the
entire planet. More manures and fertilisers can be used to address this major issue.

Manures and fertilisers serve the same purpose for soils as healthy food does for the
human body. Nourished soil can yield good harvests, just as a well-nourished human
can perform any competent task. According to estimates, increasing fertiliser
application accounts for around 70% of growth in agricultural output. Thus, an
indicator of agricultural prosperity is an increase in fertiliser usage. However,
providing enough manures and fertilisers throughout a country the size of India is
challenging, where low-income peasants populate. Chemical fertilisers are expensive
and frequently out of the price range of small-scale farmers. Therefore, the fertiliser
issue is both serious and intricate.

Irrigation

Only one-third of India's cropland is irrigated, although it is the world's second-largest

irrigated nation after China. In a country with a tropical monsoon like India, where
rainfall is unpredictable, unreliable, and variable, irrigation is the most crucial
agricultural input. India won't be able to make significant agricultural advancements
unless and until more than 50 per cent of the planted area is covered by reliable
irrigation.

Lack of Mechanisation

Despite the massive mechanisation of agriculture in some regions of the nation, most
agricultural operations are still conducted by hand in these areas, employing
straightforward and traditional tools and implements like wooden ploughs, sickles,
etc.

Ploughing, seeding, irrigating, thinning and pruning, weeding, harvesting, threshing,

and transporting crops all involve little to no usage of machinery. Particularly with
small and marginal farms, this is the case. Large amounts of human labour are wasted
as a result, and productivity per worker is low.

Marketing
In rural India, agricultural marketing is still in poor shape. Farmers have to rely on
local traders and middlemen to dispose of their farm products, which are sold at a loss
because there are no reliable marketing facilities. The majority of the time, these
farmers are compelled by socioeconomic circumstances to continue selling their
produce at a loss. Farmers typically trade their products to the moneylender from
whom they borrow money in tiny settlements.

Trading companies and middlemen predominate in the advertising and trading of

agricultural products in the absence of a formalised marketing framework. The
middlemen's compensation increases the consumer's burden for their services, but the
farmers do not gain anything comparable.

Storage
Storage facilities are either nonexistent or woefully inadequate in rural locations. In
such circumstances, the farmers are obligated to sell their food as soon as it is
harvested at the going market rates, which are invariably low. The farmers lose their
rightful income as a result of these distressed sales. The Parse Committee calculated
that 9.3% of post-harvest losses were attributable to poor storage conditions alone,
accounting for approximately 6.6 per cent of those losses. Hence, it is crucial to use
efficient storage to prevent losses and benefit both consumers and producers.

Capital
Agriculture is a significant industry; much like other industries, it needs money to
operate. With the development of agricultural technology, the importance of capital
input is growing. The agriculturalist must borrow money to increase the pace of
agricultural output because his capital is tied up in his lands and stocks. Even now,
the money lenders, traders, and commission agents that charge exorbitant interest
rates and buy agricultural products at extremely low prices are the main funding
sources for farmers in rural areas.
 Conclusion

The current critical issues that plague Indian agriculture are the knowledge and
infrastructure deficits, especially in rural areas. Problems related to irrigation
infrastructure, market infrastructure and transport infrastructure add high costs to
farmers’ operations. Another issue is the lack of delivery mechanisms. There are a
number of schemes aimed at bringing development to agriculture. We do not have
effective delivery mechanisms that can translate into effective facilitation in terms of
increasing productivity, decreasing cost, or increasing price realisation at the ground
level. Moreover, inadequate Government support exacerbates these issues. Thus,
corporate farming could be a solution to the Indian agrarian sector, but it needs deep
thinking and innovation and better policies so that neither the corporates nor the
farmers are at a loss.

The needs of small farmers, who are most vulnerable to the monsoons, should be
prioritised, and more people should have access to services like financing and crop
insurance. This will guarantee that the agriculture sector is sustainable and meets the
nation's demands. It is crucial to take measures to lessen the population explosion in
agriculture by diversifying the sector and the rural economy as a whole by fostering
rural non-farm businesses.