The chirping of birds and tracts of agricultural land make for a pretty sight in Laxmapur village which is 45 km away from the hustle-bustle of Hyderabad. Appala Venkatesh gently sits on the grass with his wife. The 45-year-old, who has a one-acre plot, has been a farmer for as long as he can remember. Of the acre that he owns, one half went into paddy cultivation — a big crop in this part of the country — and the other in the cultivation of vegetables such as tomato and bhindi (okra).