Cotton and Paddy in Karimnagar's Godavari Command Area

Karimnagar district's agricultural economy has been transformed by the Sri Ram Sagar Project (SRSP) — a large dam and canal system completing in the 1980s. The SRSP's left canal system irrigates over 2 lakh acres in Karimnagar and neighbouring districts with Godavari water, enabling paddy cultivation in areas previously dependent on monsoon rainfall for cotton. The traditional cotton-growing areas on the black cotton soil zone produce BT cotton for the textile industry. Paddy cultivation in the canal command area uses the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) technique reducing water use by 30% compared to traditional transplanting.