There are palm oil plantations on both sides of the 80 km road in Khammam district.
Nagarjuna is one of many farmers who have planted oil palm trees in their fields.
He wants oil palm to help him make money again. He claims at least 50 other farmers in his village have done the same.
More and more farmers are joining the state's plan to become India's palm oil hub. The land under palm oil has grown from 34,000 acres to 72,000 acres in the last four years.
Narayana Rao is a plantation owner who made a lot of money. Eight years ago, Mr. Rao began cultivating oil palm on his 30-acre field in Khammam, and he has made a profit of more than 4 million rupee.
30 years is how long the oil palm crop lasts. I am older than 70. He doesn't think he'll be able to uproots the plants.
The oil palm is considered a "wonder crop" and is used in almost every product of daily use. It is used as a component in diesel and petrol as well as for industrial purposes.
The cooking oil market in India is dominated by this product. Less than 300,000 metric tons of palm oil is produced and less than 10 million metric tons are imported.
The Chief Minister of the state, K Chandrashekhar Rao, has allocated 10 billion dollars to encourage the growth of the crop.
The state plans to grow two million acres of oil palm in the next four years.
The director of the state's horticulture department said earlier this year that the state would become the fifth largest oil palm cultivating nation.
We want to be the state that can supply enough palm oil so that imports from Malaysia and Indonesia are less.
Millions of households could be helped and the country's dependence on oil imports could be reduced.
Environmental experts don't think it's true. The crop is one of the main drivers of destruction. Most of the world's oil palm is grown on lands that were once biodiverse.
Indonesia's decision to halt its exports in May led to a surge in cooking oil prices.
The federal government launched the Palm Oil Mission in order to reduce dependence on imports.
Farmers in several states have been encouraged to grow oil palm
The push by the state and federal governments to give 50,918 rupee for every acre of land to farmers is the biggest push of its kind in the country.
Prior to palm oil, there was a lot of promotion of paddy cultivation.
The federal and state governments were reluctant to buy surplus rice from the farmers due to a decline in demand in other states.
After the federal government refused to buy large quantities of parboiled rice at a guaranteed minimum price, the two governments got into a shouting match.
Analysts think palm oil will benefit both the farmers and the government.
Officials at the state's horticulture department say that the crop will increase the state's agricultural gross value addition by 10%.
The National Oil Palm Farmers Association says it will use 25%- 30% less water than paddy.
According to trade analyst Narasimha Murthy, palm oil can be more productive than other oils. It is possible to get 5,000 kilogrammes perhectare.
The cost of watering a crop that requires expensive lift irrigation all year round is questionable.
The summers in the state are too hot to grow this crop.
The executive director of the Centre for sustainable agriculture says that most of the state has dry land that doesn't get enough rain.
Lift irrigation is used to bring river water to these farms. He wants to know how long the government will pay for this.
Subsidies for cultivating are not enough. The minimum support price is a guaranteed minimum price for the produce.
Many farmers in the country's largest producer shifted from crops like rice, coconut and bamboo to oil palm when the federal government started pushing the crop in the 1990s. Several farmers have switched back after suffering losses due to the lack of a guaranteed minimum price for their harvests.
The crop's inability to survive extreme weather is one of the reasons why farmers shifted.
Experts say that the farmers can't afford to take on more losses.
The state's decision to focus on palm oil is "impulsive" according to the doctor.
Slash-and-burn practices have been blamed for forest fires and extreme air pollution in several Asian countries.
Toxic weed and pest killers are often used at these plantations.
"Like in other countries where palm oil is grown, when demand grows and yield decreases, the use of chemicals will go up, causing ecological issues."
The rapid expansion of oil palm plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia has decimated vast tracts of the world's most biodiverse forests.
People in the state may have to deal with the consequences of environmental issues for a long time.
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