Standing in his eight-acre rain-fed farm at Aroor village in Sangareddy district in mid-July, P. Narasimhulu gently pulls out black gram seedlings from the dry soil. The weak plant can barely reach his ankle. “It should have been this long by now,” he says, raising his hand about three feet.
Last monsoon, nearly ₹3 lakh the 40-year-old tenant farmer had invested in his cotton crop was wasted due to excess rains. This year, he is in danger of counting losses again due to the absence of rain.
“I have spent around ₹60,000 for plowing and ₹40,000 for sowing urad and arhar (Kandi Pappu) in eight acres it Vanakalam (Rainy season. It has not rained yet. If there are good rains in the coming days, I can get back some of my investment. Otherwise, I will suffer a loss of ₹1 lakh),” says Mr Narasimhulu, who cultivates land taken on lease.
The vegetation growing between the crop rows is another reminder of how little rain the fields have received. “By this time we were done with it,” he says, pointing to the stalled development.
Their concerns are shared by many farmers in Telangana, where a delay in the south-west monsoon and the increasing impact of El Nino have raised fears of crop losses, depletion of groundwater reserves and a tough farming season. Farmers cultivating paddy, cotton, pulses, grains, vegetables and fruits across the state are eagerly waiting for incessant rains, worried not only about the current crop but also about the coming season.
The southwest monsoon reached Telangana on June 8 and covered the entire state on June 23, after a delay of 15 days. Encouraged by the first rain, many farmers have started sowing. But the rains failed to last, leaving fields dry and crops under stress.
Their concerns are supported by data. According to the recently released ‘El Nino Contingency Plan for Vanakalam 2026’ of the Agriculture Department, the groundwater level has already declined in 18 districts.
If the state receives 30% less rainfall than normal, the groundwater level is projected to fall from 9.46 meters below ground level (mbgl) in June to 10.35 mbgl in July and 11.01 mbgl in August.
Rainfall has also been much less than normal. Between June 1 and July 14, a total of 27 out of 33 districts in Telangana recorded deficient rainfall, while one district fell into the severe deficit category.
The situation in reservoirs is equally worrying. Most of the major, medium and minor irrigation reservoirs are at or near their minimum withdrawal level. According to the contingency plan released on July 16, the live storage available is limited and is mainly sufficient to meet essential needs such as drinking water supply, with little scope for providing irrigation unless the remaining monsoon brings adequate flows.
For a state where agriculture remains the major source of livelihood, its implications are significant. According to the Telangana Socio-Economic Outlook 2026, agriculture accounts for 41.5% of the total employment in the state, while industry accounts for 22.2% and services account for 36.3%. In rural Telangana, about 62.6% of the population depends on agriculture and allied activities.
This burden is especially heavy on farmers who are completely dependent on rainfall. Tenant farmers cultivating rain-fed lands are the most vulnerable, as irrigated lands command much higher lease rents than dry lands.
Political allegations and preparations
Political differences over the crisis have intensified as the drought continues.
Senior leaders of the main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi accused the state government of creating “artificial drought” by not operating the pumps in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS).
Party’s deputy floor leader T. Harish Rao said the project was conceived to ensure that farmers would not have to be at the mercy of uncertain monsoon if Godavari water was lifted into Telangana reservoirs.
Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said KLIS’s Medigadda, Annaram and Sundila barrages would not be allowed to operate until experts certified them safe. He said structural, technical, geological and geophysical studies recommended as part of the rehabilitation process following the damage to the barrages are nearing completion.
The state has started preparing for a season in which farmers may need to adapt to changing weather patterns instead of waiting for rain.
Telangana Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy addressing a press conference on the state’s record-breaking Rabi paddy procurement season at the state secretariat in Hyderabad. | Photo Credit: Siddhant Thakur
Through its El Nino contingency plan, the agriculture department has prepared district-wise crop advisories for July and August based on soil type, urging farmers to switch to drought-resistant and less water-intensive crops.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on June 1 directed officials to educate farmers about adopting crops requiring less water, given the forecast of below normal rainfall for the current monsoon.
For the second half of July, the scheme recommends crops like cotton, red gram and millet in most districts.
In August, foxtail millet and redgram feature prominently among the suggested options, along with short duration crops including moong, black gram, castor and select vegetables.
But one crop that is clearly missing from the list is paddy.
Paddy’s Paradox
This omission is significant as the total cultivation of paddy and cotton in 1.37 crore acres during Vanakalam 2025 was a little more than 87%. Paddy alone was cultivated in 69.89 lakh acres. According to the Telangana Socio-Economic Outlook 2026, the total area sown during the last Kharif season was almost equal to Telangana’s net sown area of 1.38 crore acres in 2024-25, which forms 50.13% of the state’s geographical area of 276.95 lakh acres.
According to Uttam Reddy, the state achieved a rare doubling of record paddy production and procurement in the 2025-26 Kharif season. “We purchased 71.64 lakh tonnes of paddy worth ₹19,000 crore during Kharif, benefiting more than 15 lakh farmers,” he said.
Farmers have largely been dependent on the same crops that they cultivated during the previous Vanakalam.
Compared to the same period last year, the area under paddy has increased from 5,66,710 acres to 6,37,586 acres as of July 14. The area under cotton increased from 37,48,842 acres to 41,52,337 acres, while the area under red gram increased from 3,26,357 acres to 3,53,845 acres and under soybean increased from 3,15,565 acres to 3,35,685 acres.
But as the days passed without adequate rain, the uncertainty that initially loomed over the farms began to turn into palpable concern.
In Vardhannapet mandal of Warangal district, 74-year-old farmer Bhukya Bala Kishan walks through his paddy nursery with a mix of hope and worry. The plants are almost ready for transplanting, but without adequate rainfall, they cannot be moved to the main field.
“We are waiting for at least moderate rains to prepare our fields for paddy transplantation, as the seedlings are almost ready. I am just hoping for the best, but officials say there will be no good rains this monsoon,” he laments, describing the drought-like situation prevailing not only in his village but in many parts of erstwhile Warangal district.
“During a normal monsoon, I cultivate six acres of paddy and two acres of cotton. But this year the weather has been extremely bad. Ponds and rivers are dry, and officials say the water level in major dams and reservoirs is also below normal. Since there is no water in the local tank this monsoon, I have been forced to borrow water from a neighbor to grow paddy nurseries.”
Their concerns mirror those of farmers in all the districts (except Mulugu) of the erstwhile Warangal region, where deficient rainfall has caused disruption. Vanakalam (Kharif) sowing. Warangal and Hanumakonda districts have recorded rainfall deficit much higher than the state average, making them among the worst-affected districts since June 1 this year.
A few kilometers away, in Mogilicherla village near Warangal city, 45-year-old farmer Bathini Venu has already changed her plans for the season. “Though I have five acres of land, I have taken four acres on lease. I have sown cotton in seven acres and left two acres vacant for paddy due to non-availability of water in the local pond,” he says.
He has already invested around ₹1 lakh in land preparation and sowing. “Due to non-availability of water, I am now irrigating the cotton crop with borewell water,” he says. “I pray for good rains in August, but I’m not sure what will happen.”
Dependence on groundwater also worries rice farmers elsewhere, many of whom fear that even if the current crop survives, water availability for the next crop cycle could become a challenge.
P. Narasimhulu, a 40-year-old farmer from Aroor village in Sangareddy district, says the growth of crops in his farm has stopped due to less rainfall this season. | Photo Courtesy: Nagara Gopal
The story is no different in Vikarabad district also. Anant Prabhakar Joshi (62) of Gokafasalwad village in Daulatabad mandal said that due to prolonged drought, the moong crop on his three-acre land has already dried up. “I have sown red gram in the other three acres, but have left another acre unplowed due to non-availability of water in the borewell, in which we usually sow paddy,” he says.
He urged the government to link the VB-G RAM G program to agriculture to support farmers during drought-like situations.
In Vikarabad’s Amradi Kalan village, another farmer, Salauddin, says he decided not to cultivate cotton after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of a weak monsoon. Instead, they planted trees Kandi Pappu On three acres.
“I will lose 50% Kandi Cutting. If we get plentiful rains from mid-July onwards, I can avoid the remaining 50% loss and get back the money invested,” says Mr Salauddin, who has irrigation water for farming.
a ray of hope
However, after July 16, rainfall activities increased over parts of Telangana. IMD’s Hyderabad center chief S. According to Stella, the rainfall deficit in July reduced from 31% to 25% by July 20, something he shared during a meeting on El Nino on July 21.
Many farmers got a lot of relief from the rain. The government has also stepped up its response beyond issuing contingency plans. State cabinet ministers are holding district-level review meetings with special officers appointed to monitor rainfall, reservoir and groundwater levels, crop status and other indicators. The exercise aims to gather feedback from farmers while spreading awareness about alternative cropping patterns to suit weak monsoon.
Planning Board Vice Chairman G. A 27-member state level expert committee has also been constituted under the chairmanship of Chinna Reddy.
At its first meeting in Hyderabad on July 22, the panel discussed climate-resilient agriculture through scientific crop planning, crop diversification, promotion of drought-tolerant and less water-intensive crops, groundwater recharge and other long-term measures.
“After considering the suggestions given during the meeting, we are going to submit our recommendations to the government soon. We are going to recommend supply of pulses and cereal seeds at maximum subsidy, ensuring agricultural loans to eligible farmers and suggesting a moratorium on loans taken by farmers,” says Mr. Chinna Reddy, adding that the panel may also recommend waiver of interest on agricultural loans.
At present, the recommendations remain on paper while the fate of the monsoon largely depends on the sky. This is for farmers Vanakalam It is no longer about ensuring a good harvest; It’s about being healthy enough to survive until the next season.
