Chilli acreage in the ongoing kharif 2023 cropping season is seen rising in view of high prices last year. However, the planting has been delayed in the key producing States of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka in view of delayed onset and weak progress of monsoon and poor reservoir storage in the region.

“Small farmers, especially those who take up chilli cultivation in leased lands, are afraid to take up the cultivation due to low water availability in the Nagarjuna Sagar dam. A clearer picture would emerge by mid-September till when the planting will go on,” said Sambasiva Rao Velagapudi, Chairman, All India Chilli Exporters Association in Guntur.

Water storage in Nagarjuna Sagar as on Aug 10, as per the Central Water Commission data, was 15 per cent of the normal.

Rao said the small farmers, who take up cultivation on leased lands, once committed to taking up sowing have to pay ₹70,000-80,000 per acre to the land owners. In addition, they have to incur an expenditure of ₹30,000 towards sowing. “Without any guarantee of water availability, they have to incur a cost of over ₹1 lakh. So farmers were afraid to take up the sowing and are in a wait-and-watch mode. They may decide after a fortnight,” Rao said, adding that it is difficult to quantify the chilli acreages in Andhra at this point. He also said that there’s a similar trend in the Khammam and Warangal districts of Telangana, where most of the chilli is cultivated.

The metrological subdivision of Rayalseema in Andhra has witnessed a cumulative deficit of 25 per cent till date this monsoon, while the shortfall in Coastal Andhra is 5 per cent. North Interior Karnataka is almost flat, while Telangana has seen a cumulative surplus of 22 per cent, so far. “If the sowing is affected for another 15 days in Andhra, then the next year’s crop will be lower,” Rao added.

Contrasting trend

In Karnataka, where the Byadgi chillies, known for its low pungency and high coloured content, are widely grown, the trend is quite opposite as farmers are seen bringing more area in view of the record prices fetched by the spices crop last year.

“Chilli is seen emerging as an aspirational crop in North Karnataka, where the acreages are expanding to the non-traditional areas in districts such as Bagalkot and Bijapur. This kharif, we expect the acreages to increase by about 20 per cent this year. Farmers, who missed out on the sowing of moong beans due to delayed rains this year and a section of cotton growers have taken up chilli cultivation this year,” said Basavaraj Hampali of Hampali Traders in Hubballi.

Good demand

There was a good demand for seeds this year and the only concern is the unseasonal rains post monsoon, especially during October-November, Hampali said. “Due to the very high prevailing prices of red chilli, we have seen a huge demand for seeds this year too, though there is a delay of a month or so in sowing with the delay in monsoon,” Sateesh Nukala, co-founder and CEO of BigHaat, an agri-tech player, which sells inputs such as seeds and agro-chemicals online.

“We have seen a lot of demand for the Teja and Byadgi varieties of seeds and major brands were Mahyco and Syngenta. We have seen a growth of over 50 per cent in sales as compared to last year on BigHaat platform,” Nukala added.

As per the final estimates for 2021-22, India’s red chilli output stood at 18.36 lakh tonnes and the acreages were 8.82 lakh ha. Green chillies were grown in 4.27 lakh ha and the output stood at 47 lakh tonne as per the Agriculture Ministry estimates.

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