VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government has launched emergency measures to tackle an acute fodder shortage in Anantapur and Sri Sathya Sai districts following severe drought conditions triggered by El Niño, with an estimated deficit of 11.04 lakh metric tonnes across the two districts.
Acting on Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav’s appeal at the Cabinet meeting on November 9, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed officials to formulate an immediate response to protect livestock and support rural farmers.
Satya Kumar highlighted how deficient rainfall had depleted grazing resources and threatened cattle survival, urging the government to intervene before the situation worsened.
Following the Chief Minister’s directions, Animal Husbandry Director Amarendra convened a review meeting to assess fodder availability, requirements and deficit areas in both districts. The assessment revealed a fodder shortage of 11.04 lakh metric tonnes.
In Sri Sathya Sai district, officials identified shortages across all 363 revenue village secretariats. The district has 3.56 lakh cattle and buffaloes and 32.49 lakh sheep and goats. Against 90-day requirement of 4,58,946 metric tonnes, available fodder stands at 2,39,891 metric tonnes, leaving a deficit of 2,19,055 metric tonnes.
In Anantapur district, officials recorded shortages in 293 of the 362 village secretariats. The district has 3.50 lakh cattle and buffaloes and over 8.84 lakh sheep and goats. Against a 90-day requirement of 12,72,426 metric tonnes, the available fodder stands at 3,87,533 metric tonnes, leaving a deficit of 8,84,893 metric tonnes.
To mitigate distress, the Animal Husbandry Department has launched war-footing operations. Director Amarendra announced that an initial consignment of 250 metric tonnes of fodder valued at Rs 1 crore is being rushed to the most severely affected pockets.
A targeted distribution framework has been deployed to deliver dry fodder, green grass, and balanced cattle feed directly to high-priority zones based on grassroots distress mapping.
Satya Kumar assured dairy and pastoral farmers of government support during the climate crisis and thanked the Chief Minister for protecting livestock wealth.