VIJAYAWADA: Defying El Niño impact, water shortages and adverse weather conditions, Andhra Pradesh has wrapped up the Kharif sowing season on a promising note, with farmers covering 28.68 lakh hectares. Paddy sowing reached 14.54 lakh hectares, while pulses surpassed their season-normal acreage by a wide margin.
However, behind the encouraging sowing figures lies a growing financial burden, with many farmers reporting that cultivation costs have doubled after repeated sowing, scarce irrigation water and rising expenditure on fertilisers and motor pumps.
Sofar, the total cropped area stood at 28.68 lakh hectares against the full-season normal of 30.84 lakh hectares, achieving around 93% of the target. The performance comes despite a challenging monsoon, with rainfall remaining substantially below normal across most districts.
Paddy, the principal crop, covered 14.54 lakh hectares against the seasonal normal of 15.14 lakh hectares, reaching around 96% of the target. The acreage remained close to the full-season normal, helping sustain foodgrain cultivation despite uneven rainfall and concerns over irrigation supplies.
The State received 392.6 mm of rainfall against the normal 637.6 mm so far, a deficit of 38.4%. Of the 28 districts, only three Srikakulam, Alluri Sitharama Raju and Visakhapatnam were in the normal rainfall category. As many as 24 districts recorded deficient rainfall, while Prakasam was the only district classified under large deficit.
The weak start to the North-East monsoon has added to farmers’ concerns. The State received just 10.3 mm of rainfall against the normal 57.5 mm since October 1, a shortfall of 82.1%. Reservoir storage in the State’s seven major reservoirs stood at 402.99 TMC, compared with 788.44 TMC during the corresponding period last year, intensifying worries over the availability of water for standing crops.
For farmers, the rainfall deficit has translated into mounting cultivation expenses and uncertainty over returns. In several areas, crops that withered forced growers to undertake sowing again, in some cases investing in cultivation twice during the same season. Farmers have also had to spend more on running motors to pump available water, while fertiliser and other input costs have added to their financial strain.
With substantial amounts already invested and water supplies remaining uncertain, many growers are distressed over their losses and fear that the standing crop may not survive until harvest. Even where sowing was completed, the chances of recovering investment remains uncertain.
Pulses emerge strong crops in Kharif
Srikakulam, Parvathipuram Manyam, Alluri Sitharama Raju, Dr B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema, East Godavari, West Godavari, SPSR Nellore, Tirupati and Kurnool achieved 100%, while SPSR Nellore recorded the highest progress at 188% of its seasonal normal, followed by Tirupati at 160%. Annamayya remained the furthest behind, with sowing reaching 36% of its normal area.
Pulses emerged as the strongest-performing crop group, covering 4.80 lakh hectares against the normal 3.46 lakh hectares. Redgram alone accounted for 4.13 lakh hectares against its seasonal normal of 2.96 lakh hectares, while blackgram and greengram also exceeded their respective targets. Total foodgrain coverage reached 21.29 lakh hectares against the normal 20 lakh hectares.
Oilseeds, however, remained a weak spot, with sowing covering 2.47 lakh hectares against the normal 4.50 lakh hectares. Groundnut acreage stood at 1.91 lakh hectares against 3.87 lakh hectares, while cotton covered 4.72 lakh hectares against the normal 5.15 lakh hectares.
The near-normal paddy acreage and strong performance of pulses offer some encouragement, but the final outcome will depend on rainfall, irrigation availability and the condition of standing crops.