Farmers in Telangana shifted their crop preferences during Kharif 2026, with the area under horticultural crops, particularly flowers, red chilli and other spices, registering significant increases. The shift comes amid concerns over the impact of El Niño on the southwest monsoon, deficient rainfall and irrigation stress.
The area under flower cultivation recorded the highest increase at 198%, followed by other spices at 192% and red chilli at 80%. The area under vegetable cultivation increased by 66%, while turmeric registered a 21% rise. In contrast, the area under fruit cultivation grew by just 1%.
It was learnt that the need to improve supply chain for vegetables export and cold storage units has come for discussion.
Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao directed Horticulture Department officials to further encourage farmers to take up horticultural crops and provide them with high-quality seeds for vegetable cultivation. At a meeting held in Hyderabad on Friday , he said officials should work towards exporting vegetables to other States. The need to strengthen the supply chain for vegetable exports and establish cold storage facilities also came up for discussion.
Oil palm cultivation was another focus area. The Minister said some farmers were cultivating cocoa as an intercrop in oil palm plantations and called for the practice to be encouraged to improve farmers’ earnings.
Published – October 09, 2026 11:48 pm IST
