El Nino fear may cut Vizianagaram crop area by 20,000 hectares this Kharif

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.

First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.

Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.

Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers

Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there

The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.

A farmer in a field. The Vizianagaram agriculture department is urging growers to shift to less thirsty crops this Kharif, with rainfall in doubt under El Nino. File | Photo Credit: Nagara Gopal

The crop area in Vizianagaram district is likely to fall by about 20,000 hectares in the ongoing Kharif season because of El Nino, officials said. The area is normally around 1.43 lakh hectares, but it is expected to be held to 1.23 lakh hectares this year, on the prospect of poor weather and lower rainfall under El Nino.

Paddy, grown on 1.21 lakh hectares in 2025, may come down to 1.03 lakh hectares this year. Maize, however, is projected to rise to 10,200 hectares from 9,500.

On the directions of Collector S. Ramsundar Reddy, agriculture department officials have been visiting places across the district to make farmers aware of the outlook, and to urge them to shift to crops that need less water than paddy. Speaking to The Hindu, Vizianagaram District Agriculture Officer V.T. Rama Rao said the farmers were being told why crop diversification mattered, given El Nino, a disturbance in normal global weather patterns.

“Compared to other districts, the North Andhra Pradesh region always receives more rainfall. We are hopeful of improvement in weather conditions and occurrence of normal rainfall in spite of the impact of El Nino,” Mr. Rama Rao said.

He said there would be no shortage of fertilisers, as they would be given to farmers through an online system this year.