El Nino Effect Hits Kharif Cultivation in Telangana

metro india news I hyderabad

The El Niño-induced weak monsoon has severely affected Kharif cultivation in Telangana, causing major delays in sowing and transplantation activities across the state. With rainfall remaining below normal even 45 days after the monsoon onset, large areas of farmland continue to remain uncultivated, impacting farmers and agricultural labourers.

The government had set a Kharif cultivation target of 1.32 crore acres, but only 59.8 lakh acres have been covered so far, achieving just 45.20% of the target. Paddy cultivation has witnessed the biggest setback, with only 6.39 lakh acres transplanted against the targeted 65.9 lakh acres, accounting for just 9.7%.

Cotton has shown better progress, with sowing completed across 41.1 lakh acres against the target of 47.4 lakh acres. Soybean and some pulses have also recorded better coverage, while crops like maize, millets, groundnut and sesame continue to lag.

Farmers are increasingly worried as the ideal sowing period has already passed for several crops. Low rainfall has affected paddy nurseries, while declining groundwater levels have limited borewell-based cultivation. Several districts, including Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, Khammam and Nalgonda, have reported slow agricultural activity.

Telangana recorded rainfall deficits of 12% in June and 16% in July, raising concerns over crop output and rural livelihoods. The prolonged dry spell has also affected fodder availability and pushed groundwater levels down, increasing concerns over future irrigation and drinking water availability.