AP steps up measures to protect crops amid El Niño

Metro India News | AMARAVATI

Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Minister Kinjarapu Atchannaidu has directed officials to take urgent, war-footing measures to tackle drought-like conditions caused by the El Niño phenomenon and protect crops facing moisture stress across the state. A high-level review meeting chaired by Atchannaidu on Sunday assessed the impact of El Niño conditions, rainfall deficiency, Kharif cultivation, crop health, alternative cropping and measures to save crops using available water resources.

The minister assured farmers that the government would extend all possible support to prevent losses caused by the prevailing dry 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 for the period, resulting in a 54.2 per cent rainfall deficit across the state. As of September 12, crops had been cultivated across 2.65 million hectares during Kharif 2026, officials said. This represented 74 per cent of the normal cultivated area and 78 per cent of the area covered during the corresponding period last year.

At the district level, Kurnool recorded the highest affected area at 109,255 hectares, followed by Nandyal with 80,751 hectares and Anantapur with 32,456 hectares. Officials said that surveys had been completed on 27.493 million of the state's total 27.558 million plots through the e-Crop and M&E systems, representing 99.76 per cent completion. Only 65,233 plots remained pending. Regarding crop-health data, officials said updates had been completed for 9.810 million of the 10.82 million plots requiring such information. About 1.01 million plots, or 9.34 per cent, were still pending.

Focus on Alternative Crops

Given the continuing rainfall deficit, Atchannaidu called for greater emphasis on crop diversification. Officials said alternative crops had so far been taken up across 34,567 hectares, while another 95,112 hectares remained to be covered. The minister asked officials to identify crops requiring less water and capable of withstanding the prevailing weather conditions, and to encourage farmers to adopt them. He also directed authorities to ensure the availability of seeds, technical guidance and other necessary support.

Atchannaidu directed the Agriculture and Water Resources departments to work in close coordination to provide protective irrigation to moisture-stressed crops using available water resources. Irrigation Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu advised farmers cultivating under the Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam reservoirs to opt for dryland crops instead of paddy.