New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra have failed to escape the force of the dreaded El Nino, which has led to a hotter September, causing agricultural distress in the four draught crippled states, according to a report in Hindustan Times.
El Nino is a condition, which causes the ocean temperatures to rise unusually, and is known to have had a strong impact on the Indian monsoon in the past. Weather experts are blaming El Nino for what is considered one of India’s worst drought situations in last three decades.
While Karnataka has declared a drought in almost the entire state, Maharashtra is mulling on declaring scarcity in its drought-hit talukas, as an alarming number of regions in the state remain parched. Andhra Pradesh too is considering the same as all four districts in the Rayalseema region and over 250 mandals in other parts of the state recorded poor rainfall.
Many regions of the neighbouring Telangana are also under stress. These states contribute over one-third of India’s food produce and are worst affected in the entire country. This means “we are staring at a deficiency of roughly 10-11% dip in agricultural production” said an expert at Comtrade, which monitors trade in farm items.
Analysts also warned of a “seasonal shock” which means that prices of perishable food like fruits, vegetables and milk could shoot up.
The real impact of El Nino is expected to show when farmers take to their fields to sow winter crops as the soil’s moisture level will be very low. “When the second half of the monsoon gets drier, that’s a bad sign for winter sowing,” said Ramesh Pawar, a government official in Maharashtra who has been tasked to prepare a status report on the drought situation in the state.
Close to half of the country experienced deficit rain this year, crippling farming in many states, especially those with ill-equipped or no irrigation facilities. Eastern Madhya Pradesh (which is a chief producer of rice and pulses), Chhattisgarh and poll-bound Bihar have also been affected.
According to a report by Crisil, the production of tur dal, soyabean, cotton and coarse cereals could be seriously affected owing to the poor monsoon in the regions where they are grown.
The government on Tuesday had announced that it was working on alternatives to provide an additional 50 days of man-work in drought-hit areas under the MGNREGA rural job scheme.
