Dry Spell Leaves Rain-Fed Crops Devastated In Kurnool, Nandyal, Kadapa

Cotton and other rain-fed crops have suffered extensive damage in Kurnool, Nandyal and YSR Kadapa districts following a prolonged dry spell during the kharif season, leaving thousands of farmers facing heavy losses.

Light rains during the first week of July prompted farmers in Kurnool and Nandyal districts to take up large-scale cultivation of cotton, red gram and groundnut. However, the rains stopped soon after the crops germinated and began growing, resulting in widespread withering.

Farmers said even one good spell of rain in August could have saved a substantial portion of the crop, but the prolonged dry conditions have left cotton fields particularly badly affected.

Kurnool district depends heavily on rain-fed agriculture, with farmers cultivating cotton, red gram and castor following the initial rains. Hoping for further showers, many farmers also took up onion and other crops. However, the failure of subsequent rains has caused several crops to dry up completely. As many as 21 mandals in Kurnool district are facing severe drought conditions.

D. Narayanappa, a farmer from Tuggali mandal, said he had cultivated cotton on five acres. “The crop was growing well, but there was no rain afterwards. It is now almost completely dried up. Even one good spell of rain before August 20 would have saved the crop,” he said.

Officials have identified crop damage across nearly 40,000 hectares in Kurnool district alone. Groundnut cultivation was already below normal this season, and more than 14,000 hectares of groundnut crop in Kurnool, Nandyal and Kadapa districts is estimated to have withered.

Overall, crops spread across nearly 95,000 hectares in the three districts are showing severe signs of moisture stress, with farmers saying there is little hope of harvesting them.

M. Rangaswamy, a farmer from Kosigi mandal, said he had invested heavily in the crop. “We invested around Rs.25,000 to Rs.30,000 per acre. We kept waiting for rain, hoping the crop would recover. But the rains did not come and we have now lost all hope of getting a harvest,” he said.

Meanwhile, farmers are also worried about crop-loss compensation. Though farmers are required to register their crops online through e-crop enrolment to become eligible for compensation, nearly 50 per cent of them have reportedly not completed the process.

Many farmers in remote areas are unaware of the online procedure, raising concerns that they could be left out of the compensation process despite suffering major losses.

An Agriculture Department official said farmers had repeatedly been advised to complete e-crop registration. “We have been asking farmers to complete e-crop registration repeatedly. In many places, farmers have come forward and completed the registration,” the official said.

Crop-wise Cultivation in Kurnool and Nandyal Districts