Agriculture in Andhra Pradesh
Over the years, agriculture in Andhra Pradesh has changed. Even though paddy continues to be the main crop, other food and oil crops like ragi, jowar, maize and groundnut have declined and have been replaced by cash crops like sugarcane, turmeric, cotton red and green chillies, sunflower etc. all these crops seed investment in the form of seeds, water, fertilizer, pesticide etc. for which the farmers have to take loans.
A few decades back most of the farmers depended upon tanks and canals to irrigate their lands. Now more than half the lands in Andhra Pradesh depend on bore wells. This has resulted in depletion of the ground water levels and increased dependence on rainfall.
Migrating to the cities as laborers or workers
All this has made small farmers very vulnerable to crop failures as they are unable to repay their loans with interest amount. Many of them are being forced to sell their lands and migrating to the cities as laborers or workers.
Agricultural laborers not only face lack of jobs in rural areas but their wages are going up.
Poor families are left with no option but to look for work outside villages or move to urban areas.