Distribution of alternative crops as part of the eradication of ganja cultivation in Alluri Sitarama Raju district.

The district officials of ASR have included avocado, a new variety of alternative crop, in their efforts to curb ganja cultivation in Andhra Pradesh. The officials have started distributing avocado seeds for cultivation on six hectares on a trial basis.

Avocados are exotic fruits with roots in Mexico and Central America. India’s nearest export market is Kuwait. Since the avocado plant grows in temperatures below 38°C, the authorities considered the ASR district as the ideal place for this crop. It is an Australian variety of avocado that was imported to India via Bangladesh. One hectare of avocados grown properly can produce around 500-600 quintals and the farmer can earn a profit of Rs 400,000 to Rs 500,000, the authorities said.

The police department has identified people who used to grow ganja and will now be selected as beneficiaries of the alternative cultivation program. Officials of the Horticulture Department will study the local conditions and suggest ideal alternative crops.

Accordingly, the departments concerned have set a target of cultivating 20 alternative crops, including avocados, on 10,290 acres of cultivated land in 11 mandals in the financial year 2023-24.

According to official police statistics, the following 20 crops were cultivated: cashew (1,623 acres), custard apple (120 acres), sweet orange (929 acres), sour lime (490 acres), guava (57 acres), coconut (114 acres), sapota (537 acres), tamarind (72 acres), moringa (9 acres), mango (49 acres), avocado (4 acres), oil palm (29 acres), dragon fruit (20 acres), pomegranate (6 acres), jamun (160 acres), silver oak (1,516 acres) and rajmah (4,553 acres).

The alternative crops are grown in the following mandals: Ananthagiri (762 acres), Araku Valley (682 acres), Chintapalli (1,552 acres), Dumbriguda (440 acres), G. Madugula (880 acres), GK Veedhi (2,009 acres), Hukumpeta (824 acres), Koyyuru (916 acres), Munchingiputtu (756 acres), Paderu (623 acres) and Pedabayalu (845 acres).

Deputy Inspector General of Visakhapatnam Range Gopinath Jatti recently held a meeting with police superintendents, including ASR SP Amit Bardar, to discuss measures to curb ganja cultivation.

In fact, the supply of alternative plants has been started in the year 2021-22. The departments initiated measures such as using drones to check cannabis cultivation and identify new plants. Besides, inter-departmental committees have been formed to visit villages to identify places and people where alternative plants can be distributed and to conduct awareness sessions to dissuade farmers from growing cannabis. So far, a total of 8,585 farmers in 11 mandals have benefited from the distribution of alternative plants, it was learnt.