HYDERABAD: As drought looms over Telangana, State Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao on Thursday directed officials to assess its severity based on multiple indicators and identify drought-hit mandals in the state.
He also directed officials to determine crop losses through field-level inspections wherever necessary.
At a review meeting, the minister explained the drought management guidelines. A rainfall deficit of 20% to 59% should be classified as a rainfall deficit, 60% to 99% as a severe rainfall deficit and complete absence of rain as an extremely severe situation.
The guidelines state that a cropped area of less than 85% of the normal area should be considered an indicator of drought, while 75% or less should be treated as an indicator of severe drought.
The minister also demanded that the Centre purchase the entire agricultural produce from Telangana at the minimum support price (MSP). He said merely announcing MSP was not enough and that the Centre should ensure farmers have an opportunity to sell their entire produce at the announced support price.
He said that under the Price Support Scheme (PSS), the Centre currently procures only 25% of the total production of pulses and oilseeds grown in the respective states through NAFED.
In view of the prevailing El Nino conditions and climate change, Nageswara Rao suggested that the Centre procure 100% of all crops for which MSP has been announced.
