Farmers in the traditional tobacco growing region in south coastal Andhra Pradesh have taken up cultivation of tobacco, the principal commercial crop catering to the global market, thanks to timely onset of the northeast monsoon and remunerative price for their produce in the last two years in a row.
‘’Sowing is going on at a brisk pace thanks to soaking rains in the districts of Prakasam and SPSR Nellore in November,’‘ explained Lakshmana Rao, regional manager of auction platforms in Southern Light Soil and Southern Black Soil regions. Tobacco seedlings have been planted by farmers so far in about 11,000 hectares. Each day 2,500 hectares of land under tobacco is added by farmers aided by the current widespread wet spell in the two districts.
