Hyderabad, July 14 (RAHNUMA): Telangana Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao on Tuesday urged farmers to prepare crop plans keeping El Niño conditions in mind, warning that below-normal rainfall could reduce water availability in the Krishna and Godavari river basins.
Participating in the ‘Rythu Nestham’ programme, the Minister said Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka had received deficient rainfall this season, making prudent crop planning essential. He directed Agriculture, Irrigation, Groundwater and IMD officials to coordinate closely and provide timely advisories to farmers.
Tummala recommended cultivation of low-water crops such as jowar, bajra, foxtail millet, green gram, black gram and red gram, besides encouraging farmers to opt for short-duration, high-yielding crop varieties.
IMD Hyderabad Director Stella said Telangana had recorded a 30-35 percent rainfall deficit due to El Niño and cautioned that below-normal rainfall could continue over the next three months.
Irrigation officials warned that reduced rainfall in upstream states was likely to lower inflows into the Krishna and Godavari rivers, while Groundwater department officials cautioned that groundwater levels may decline further, advising farmers to avoid water-intensive crops like paddy and sugarcane.
Experts from the Indian Institute of Millets Research, PJTSAU, IIOR, CRIDA and other institutions also participated in the programme, offering scientific guidance on drought-resilient agriculture, efficient water management and alternative cropping strategies. Agriculture department secretary K. Surendramohan, Agriculture Department Director B. Gopi, Cooperation Department Special Director Rahul Raj, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University Vice-Chancellor Professor Altaas Janayya, Irrigation Department Engineer-in-Chief (ENC) Madhusudan Rao, Groundwater Department Director Lakshman and others participated in the programme.
