VIJAYAWADA — The fields of Andhra Pradesh are drying up, and so are the hopes of its farmers. With rainfall levels plunging to a staggering 54.73% below normal, affecting 653 out of 685 mandals, the state’s agricultural heartland is gasping for relief. YSR Congress Party leader M.V.S. Nagi Reddy didn’t mince words on Sunday: declare a drought emergency now.

Key facts

  • Rainfall deficit: 54.73%
  • Mandal's affected: 653 out of 685
  • Cultivated area covered: only 69% of normal
  • Critical districts: Annamayya, Prakasam, Chittoor, Markapuram, Visakhapatnam

Crops and Communities Under Stress

Nagi Reddy, the party’s state general secretary for agriculture, laid out the grim numbers at a press conference in Tadepalli. Cultivation has sharply declined—just 69% of the normal area has been covered this season, far below the national average of 98.3%. Groundnut, cotton, maize, jowar, millets, and pulses are among the major crops withering under the unrelenting dry spell.

Questioning Government Response

He criticized state advice urging farmers to switch to alternative crops, calling the suggestion tone-deaf without guaranteed rainfall, irrigation, or subsidized seeds. In Krishna district, where paddy dominates 3.28 lakh acres of farmland, asking growers to shift away from rice isn’t just unwise—it’s unworkable.

“The government should assess crop losses immediately and provide compensation on a per-acre basis,” Nagi Reddy insisted.

Demands for Immediate Action

Farmers are caught in a vicious squeeze: rising cultivation costs and falling market prices for cotton, onion, maize, banana, and tobacco. Nagi Reddy pushed for direct bank transfers of relief funds, clearance of pending subsidies, crop insurance payouts, and support for families of farmers who have died by suicide. Every day without action deepens the crisis.