 "Rabi crop to the rescue in Andhra")
Grain output in Andhra Pradesh is expected to be 16.5 million tonnes (mt) against a target 19 mt, according to officials.
Dry spells, deficient rain in some districts and a drastic fall in Krishna inflows from the upstream Nagarjuna Sagar caused drought conditions in 50 per cent of the kharif area in the state, officials said. Rain in November and December have changed the situation in most of these areas, leading to a normal rabi season.
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“But in districts like Anantapur and Kurnool in Rayalaseema, and Prakasham in coastal Andhra Pradesh, farmers are selling their cattle due to fodder scarcity,” said Kiran Kumar Vissa, a member of the Raithu Swarajya Vedica, which works on farmers’ issues. The kharif crop area had shrunk in the 1.5 million acres of command area in the Krishna delta. “Since the beginning of the kharif season the Krishna delta has received only 65 trillion cubic (tmc) feet of water against a normal flow of 520 tmc, creating a gap in irrigation and drinking water needs in the Krishna, Guntur and Prakasham districts,” said K Dhananjaya Reddy, commissioner of agriculture.
The government has to disburse Rs 730 crore input subsidy to farmers who faced crop loss during the kharif season. The Centre has agreed to grant Rs 430 crore, according to officials.
Between May 2015 and March 2016, the groundwater level in coastal Andhra Pradesh fell by about one metre, while in Rayalaseema it rose by four metres due to heavy rain.
Seven of 13 districts received normal rain while Chittoor and Nellore received excess rain. Srikakulam, Guntur, Prakasham and Kurnool districts rainfall deficient in the range of 21.3-34 per cent.
