VIJAYAWADA: The prolonged dry spell triggered by El Niño has severely impacted agriculture across Andhra Pradesh, leaving thousands of farmers anxious as standing crops begin to wither due to acute water scarcity.
Expecting a good monsoon, many farmers took up cultivation in the third week of June after a few spells of rain across several parts of the State. Kharif operations gathered momentum in the first week of July, and around Eruvaka Purnima, traditionally considered an auspicious time for sowing new crop.
Despite repeated advisories from the Agriculture Department urging farmers not to hasten sowing without assured rainfall, many went ahead with cultivation fearing further delay would result in missing the crucial Kharif crop.
According to official data, the normal Kharif crop acreage in the State is 30.84 lakh hectares.
With rains eluding State, Kharif crops on 8.91L hectares face moisture stress
Crops have been raised in 8.91 lakh hectares so far, accounting for 29% of the normal Kharif acreage. Paddy accounts for the largest sown area with 3.26 lakh hectares, followed by cotton (2.75 lakh hectares), red gram (1.08 lakh hectares), groundnut (0.62 lakh hectares), maize (0.51 lakh hectares) and sugarcane (0.10 lakh hectares). Major crop sowing has been reported in Srikakulam (94,921 ha), Anantapur (81,035 ha), Nandyal (67,622 ha), Chittoor (62,223 ha) and Nellore (60,801 ha).
Paddy, the principal crop cultivated across the State, particularly in the coastal districts, requires abundant water. Rainfall remains the primary source for ensuring healthy crop establishment and good yield, while canal water serves as a supplementary source during certain stages of cultivation.
Although irrigation water has been released into several canal systems, it has not reached tail-end lands, and remains insufficient to meet the irrigation requirements of all farmers.
In several villages, farmers have been using borewell water wherever available, and manually transporting water to their fields in an effort to protect their crops. However, with groundwater levels also declining in many areas, these measures offer only temporary relief. Farmers say only timely rainfall can rescue the crops at this stage.
G Ashok, a farmer from Machilipatnam Rural mandal, said he raised paddy in three acres using the broadcasting method, but the crop was now drying up due to lack of water. “Now, my entire investment is likely to go to waste. If I have to raise the crop again, it will be a huge financial burden on me,” he said.
