Hyderabad: Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao ordered a Telangana drought assessment at the mandal level. He asked officials to find areas with poor rainfall and work closely with revenue staff.
Tummala said the Agriculture Department should share mandal-wise data with the Revenue Department. He said the data would help prepare proposals to declare drought-hit mandals.
The minister said officials should follow the Union Agriculture Ministry’s drought rules. However, he said rainfall alone should not decide drought status. Instead, officials should study many signs. These included rainfall variation, SPI, dry spells and the area under crops.
They were also asked to check NDVI, NDWI, VCI and soil moisture. In addition, they had to review reservoir levels, groundwater and streamflow. Fodder, drinking water, jobs and migration would also form part of the Telangana drought assessment. Tummala asked the Agriculture Department to send the needed reports.
Telangana drought assessment to use many indicators
Tummala said officials should rate drought by using several signs together. Where needed, he asked them to check crop losses through field visits. The minister said the rules treated a rainfall shortfall of 20% to 59% as deficit rainfall. He said a shortfall of 60% to 99% counted as severe deficit.
He added that no rain at all marked an extreme situation. He also said crop area below 85% of normal levels showed drought stress. According to Tummala, a fall to 75% or less showed severe drought. He asked officials to check the figures against what they saw on the ground.
The Telangana drought assessment would therefore cover rain, crops, soil, water and local living conditions. It would not depend on one measure alone. The New Indian Express reported the same rainfall and crop-area thresholds from the minister’s review.
Telangana drought assessment meeting also reviews MSP
During the meeting, Tummala also raised the Minimum Support Price issue. He said the Centre’s duty did not end with announcing MSP. He argued that farmers should actually get the announced price. He referred to the latest MSP increase for the 2027-28 Rabi marketing season.
The Union Cabinet approved hikes of ₹675 per quintal for safflower and ₹413 for rapeseed and mustard. It also approved rises of ₹390 for lentil, ₹136 for barley, ₹83 for gram and ₹25 for wheat. Tummala said farmers gained only when they could sell produce at the support price. Therefore, he urged the Centre to buy more crops.
He said NAFED now bought only part of pulse and oilseed output under the Price Support Scheme. Current rules let states seek initial procurement of up to 25% of output for notified crops, subject to conditions. However, the rules allow 100% procurement for Tur, Urad and Masur under specified arrangements.
Tummala seeks wider procurement at MSP
Tummala urged the Centre to buy 100% of crops covered by support prices. He cited climate change and El Niño conditions while making the demand. He said an MSP announcement alone did not protect farmers. Instead, he said the system had to give them a real chance to sell at that price.
The minister asked the Centre to ensure every farmer got MSP. He said full procurement would give farmers the intended benefit. Agriculture Secretary Surendra Mohan attended the meeting. Marketing MD Rahul Raj and Horticulture MD Yasmin Basha also took part.
Tummala asked officials to continue the Telangana drought assessment with revenue authorities. He said timely reports would support decisions on drought-hit mandals and relief steps.