El Niño Impact: Crops Damaged Across 23.4 Lakh Acres in Telangana
The impact of El Niño has dealt a severe blow to farmers across Telangana, with prolonged dry spells and intense heat causing extensive crop damage across the state.
Hyderabad: The impact of El Niño has dealt a severe blow to farmers across Telangana, with prolonged dry spells and intense heat causing extensive crop damage across the state. According to preliminary estimates released by the Telangana Agriculture Department, crops have been damaged across approximately 23.4 lakh acres, leaving thousands of farmers facing heavy financial losses.
Cotton has suffered the maximum damage, with an estimated 15 lakh acres affected. Paddy crops have been damaged across four lakh acres, followed by red gram on 1.5 lakh acres, maize on 70,000 acres and chilli on nearly 14,000 acres. Farmers are particularly distressed as crops dried up close to the harvesting stage, resulting in significant losses despite substantial investments.
Nalgonda district recorded the highest crop damage at 3.58 lakh acres, followed by Narayanpet (2.4 lakh acres), Sangareddy (2.19 lakh acres), Jangaon (2 lakh acres) and Nagarkurnool (1.78 lakh acres).
Other affected districts include Rangareddy (1.69 lakh acres), Adilabad and Mahabubnagar (1.54 lakh acres each), Vikarabad (1.24 lakh acres) and Bhongir (90,000 acres).
Farmer organisations have urged the government to conduct a comprehensive damage assessment and provide adequate compensation per acre to support affected farmers.
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