VIJAYAWADA: Agriculture Minister K Atchannaidu has directed officials to take urgent measures on a war footing to protect crops facing moisture stress due to the prevailing drought conditions caused by the El Niño effect. He stressed the need to utilise every available water source to provide protective irrigation and minimise losses to farmers.
During a high-level review meeting held on Sunday, the Minister reviewed rainfall, Kharif cultivation, crop damage, crop health, alternative crops and measures to protect standing crops using available water resources. He said the government would extend all possible support to farmers and directed Agriculture and Water Resources officials to remain alert and continuously assess field-level conditions.
Officials informed the Minister that Andhra Pradesh received only 218.2 mm of rainfall between June 1 and September 12, against the normal 476.1 mm, resulting in a 54.2 per cent deficit.
As of September 12, Kharif crops had been cultivated over 26.50 lakh hectares, accounting for 74 per cent of the normal area.
El Niño-related crop stress has been reported in 284 mandals and 1,792 RSKs/villages, affecting 2,44,443 hectares. Of this, 1,92,387 hectares faced moisture stress, 41,474 hectares witnessed wilting and 10,582 hectares suffered complete drying.
Kurnool recorded the highest area at 1,09,255 hectares, followed by Nandyal with 80,751 hectares and Anantapur with 32,456 hectares. Among crops, red gram and cotton were the worst affected.
The Minister directed officials to expedite the updating of crop-health data and complete the pending survey work. Officials said 99.76 per cent of the 2.7558 crore plots had already been surveyed.
Atchannaidu also called for large-scale promotion of alternative and less water-intensive crops. Irrigation Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu urged farmers cultivating under the Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam projects to opt for dryland crops instead of paddy.
The Agriculture and Water Resources departments were directed to coordinate closely and prioritise available water resources to save crops wherever possible.
