Minister urges ryots to rethink paddy farming and go for alternative crops

Agriculture Minister T. Nageswara Rao is holding a meeting on El Nino conditions in Hyderabad on Thursday.

HYDERABAD

Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageshwara Rao has asked the farming community to reconsider paddy cultivation this season and consider growing other less water-intensive crops as the impact of scant rains, El Nino conditions are already forecast to continue into August.

He proposed the use of micro-irrigation tools to grow pulses, millets, coarse grains and horticultural crops to make optimum use of the available groundwater resource, which would also be scarce if the rainfall deficit increases further. He instructed the authorities to prepare seeds required for alternative crops and drip equipment along with credit facilities (bank loans).

In a meeting held here on Thursday to discuss the impact of El Nino conditions, the minister said 23 out of 33 districts were facing a rainfall deficit scenario as on July 23 and asked banks to increase agricultural loans, including crop loans and term loans.

The minister said the India Meteorological Department has predicted the continuation of the El Nino phenomenon in the coming months, including August and September, leading to drought till December.

As rainfall in the upper catchments of Maharashtra and Karnataka has been poor so far, the chances of inflows in the Krishna and Godavari rivers to Telangana have also been slim. Kharif crop cultivation was expected to decline by 23% or 32 thousand acres compared to the past.

On agriculture credit, the minister urged the banks to increase the loan range for Kharif. Of the ₹58,000 crore credit plan for the agriculture sector, banks have disbursed ₹20,000 crore so far.

Published – 23 Jul 2026 20:24 IST