Vijayawada: Farmerswho anticipated a robust kharif season due to an early monsoon and good initial rainfall are now worried about crop prospects as the state grapples with deficient rainfall.
From June 1 to July 19, Andhra Pradesh recorded a rainfall deficit of 29.1 mm, receiving only 134.4 mm as against an expected 189.6 mm, according to government data.
Among the state’s 26 districts, YSR Kadapa recorded the highest deficit at 66.2 mm, followed by Sri Sathya Sai (58.4 mm), Nellore (56 mm), and Palnadu (54 mm).
Only 12 districts received normal rainfall. The deficit has delayed sowing operations, particularly for paddy farmers. In the Krishna Delta, sowing is complete in some areas due to available irrigation, but in combined Guntur district, dry spells have stalled progress.
Of the 61,237 acre in Tenali and Guntur divisions, only 6,500 acre has been cultivated. Similarly, cotton sowing covered just 1,632 of the targeted 23,000 hectare.
Joint director of agriculture I Nageswara Rao noted that cultivation could improve with better rainfall. AP Rythu Sangham district president K Ajaykumar highlighted prevailing drought-like conditions due to the rainfall shortage.
In East Godavari, district agricultural officer S Madhava Rao reported that 60 per cent of paddy sowing, covering roughly 50,000 hectare, has been completed using various irrigation sources.
However, tail-end areas like Peravali, Anaparthi, Biccavole, and Devarapalli mandals face water shortages. Chikkala Eswara Rao, president of the Kadiyam Water Users Association, noted that sand dunes upstream and downstream of the Dowleswaram barrage are disrupting water supply through Godavari canals, urging immediate government action.
In Parvathipuram Manyam district, farmer M Nukam Naidu from Thotapalli village expressed concern over his ready-to-transplant paddy nursery, prepared during early kharif showers.
With no rainfall in the past month and no water for transplantation, he fears losses if conditions persist for another two weeks.
Similarly, farmers in the district who raised nurseries using borewells are hesitant to begin sowing due to fears of crop failure from drying fields.
Government data indicates that only 16 per cent of the targeted cultivation area has been covered this kharif season, underscoring the severe impact of the rainfall deficit.
