Unproductive idea

Telangana should not dictate to farmers what to produce

The Telangana government’s decision to dictate to the farmers what to grow and on how much area seems ill-advised, regardless of the valid reasons for modification in the prevailing cropping pattern. The mooted game plan is to reduce acreage under paddy, which guzzles water and is already over-supplied, and expand the cultivation of cotton and red gram (tur or arhar), which, the government mistakenly believes, would fetch higher returns for growers. No doubt, the underlying objectives of this move — to save water and align production with demand — are indisputable. But the way these are sought to be achieved