El Niño drought, then floods hit North Andhra farmers

Farmers in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Parvatipuram Manyam districts, already hit by drought since June due to El Niño conditions, have suffered fresh losses from floods caused by a deep depression that crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast. Rainfall was nearly 45% deficient through the third week of September. Cropped area fell to about 45,000 hectares in Vizianagaram, against a normal 1.43 lakh hectares, and to 2.2 lakh hectares in Srikakulam, against 3,47,519 hectares. Losses range from ₹35,000 to ₹2 lakh.

Written by AI from Srikakulam — agriculture · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 30 Sept 2026, 8:00 pm IST

Source

Srikakulam — agriculture · read the original report ↗

#el nino#drought#floods#crop damage#srikakulam#vizianagaram

Desk check · compared with the source

What the desk checked (5)

El Niño conditions caused a nearly 45% rainfall deficit through the third week of September. — Figure appears in source; no agency attribution given for the deficit data.
Cropped area fell to about 45,000 hectares in Vizianagaram (normal 1.43 lakh ha) and about 2.2 lakh hectares in Srikakulam (normal 3,47,519 ha). — Figures appear in source; no department named as the source of the data.
Farmers invested nearly ₹9,500 per acre in paddy and up to ₹18,000 per acre in maize, with losses of ₹35,000 to ₹2 lakh. — Reported in source as farmer-level estimates; not independently documented.
Release of nearly 75,000 cusecs from Narayanpur Anicut in two days inundated hundreds of acres in Burja mandal. — Stated in source in the context of MARKFED Director Anepu Ramakrishna's account; no irrigation department confirmation cited.
Officials assured enumeration of crop damage and relief measures within days. — Attributed to MARKFED Director Anepu Ramakrishna.

Written by AI from Srikakulam — agriculture · not yet reviewed by an editor · How we use AI · Report an error

Analysts’ view opinion

AI Economic Analyst

This is a two-shock season: drought first shrank the sown area, then floods drowned what little was standing. Vizianagaram's cropped area falling from a normal 1.43 lakh hectares to about 45,000 hectares, and Srikakulam's from 3,47,519 to around 2.2 lakh hectares, implies a large slice of these districts' rural income has simply evaporated. The cost is being borne almost entirely by the farmer — roughly ₹9,500 per acre in paddy and up to ₹18,000 per acre in maize invested and not recovered, with borewell users losing standing crops on top of that.

The drought-then-flood sequence doubles the damage: sunk costs on seed and fertiliser are lost, and so is the harvest that was supposed to repay them.
Maize yields cited in the story fell from 25 quintals an acre to 10 — fixed costs stay, revenue collapses.
Losses of ₹35,000 to ₹2 lakh per farmer translate into immediate cash-flow stress and repayment pressure for smallholders who borrow to plant.
A smaller cropped area hurts more than farm households: farm labour, input dealers, transport and local market trade all lose turnover.
The story notes inundation followed the release of nearly 75,000 cusecs from the Narayanpur Anicut in two days, pointing to water-management and drainage infrastructure as a costly weak link.

What to watch — Watch how fast and how widely the promised crop-damage enumeration is completed, and whether any relief reaches farmers in time to fund Rabi sowing.

The story does not establish a district-wide or aggregate loss figure, how many farmers hold crop insurance or outstanding loans, or what compensation, if any, will be announced — the loss ranges are as reported by farmers, with official assessment still pending.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 5 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

Farmers in North Coastal Andhra Pradesh — Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Parvatipuram Manyam districts — faced a double blow in the 2026 Kharif season. El Niño conditions caused a drought from June, leaving rainfall nearly 45% deficient through the third week of September and forcing many farmers to skip sowing. Soon after, a deep depression that crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast triggered floods and flash floods that inundated thousands of acres of standing crops, including those of farmers who had irrigated through borewells and canals.

Key facts

Rainfall deficit in the region was nearly 45% through the third week of September.
Vizianagaram's cropped area fell to nearly 45,000 hectares against a normal cropping area of about 1.43 lakh hectares.
Srikakulam's cropped area fell to around 2.2 lakh hectares against a normal 3,47,519 hectares.
Drought conditions affected 27 mandals of Vizianagaram district and 30 mandals of Srikakulam district.
Farmers had invested nearly ₹9,500 per acre in paddy and up to ₹18,000 per acre in maize.
Crop damage losses ranged from ₹35,000 to ₹2 lakh per farmer; Mamidi Appanna and Challa Savara Raju of Allina village lost about ₹30,000 each.
Maize yield fell from a normal 25 quintals per acre to 10 quintals this year, per farmer Palla Appalanaidu of Kagitapalli village.
Release of nearly 75,000 cusecs from the Narayanpur Anicut in two days inundated hundreds of acres in Burja mandal.

Timeline

June (start of Kharif season)Drought due to El Niño conditions; a majority of farmers stayed away from agricultural activity in the first month of Kharif.
June to third week of SeptemberRainfall deficit of nearly 45%; farmers who had invested in seeds and fertilizers lost money for want of rain and irrigation.
Recently (before September 26, 2026)A deep depression crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast, triggering floods that inundated thousands of acres in Srikakulam and Vizianagaram.
Over two daysNearly 75,000 cusecs released from Narayanpur Anicut, inundating hundreds of acres in Burja mandal, Srikakulam.
September 26, 2026Farmers submitted a memorandum to MARKFED Director Anepu Ramakrishna seeking immediate financial assistance; officials assured enumeration of crop damage in a couple of days.

Who has a stake

Farmers of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Parvatipuram Manyam districts — Loss of per-acre investment in seeds and fertilizers, standing crops and yields; losses of ₹35,000 to ₹2 lakh each.
Borewell- and canal-dependent farmers — Managed to raise crops during the drought but lost standing crops to flash floods and canal water release.
Andhra Pradesh government and district administration — Must enumerate crop damage and announce relief and financial assistance.
MARKFED Director Anepu Ramakrishna — Received farmers' memorandum and is to convey their plight to the government.
Irrigation authorities managing Narayanpur Anicut — Release of nearly 75,000 cusecs in two days contributed to inundation of farmland in Burja mandal.

Why it matters

A single season of back-to-back drought and flood has wiped out both the un-sown and the sown crop across two of Andhra Pradesh's poorest agrarian districts, shrinking cropped area by roughly two-thirds in Vizianagaram. For rain-fed farmers with sunk costs of ₹9,500–₹18,000 an acre, such compound shocks translate directly into debt, and expose how thin the buffer of borewell irrigation and canal command areas really is.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

El Niño conditions were linked to the nearly 45% rainfall deficit in North Coastal Andhra Pradesh through the third week of September.
Districts affected: Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Parvatipuram Manyam in North Coastal Andhra Pradesh.
Normal cropping area: about 1.43 lakh hectares (Vizianagaram) and 3,47,519 hectares (Srikakulam).
Nagavali river canals irrigate the Palakonda mandal area of Srikakulam district.
Narayanpur Anicut released nearly 75,000 cusecs in two days, flooding Burja mandal.
MARKFED — the marketing federation whose Director received the farmers' memorandum.

Mains framing

The North Andhra case illustrates how climate variability now delivers two opposite shocks within one cropping cycle: an El Niño-driven monsoon deficit of nearly 45% that suppressed sowing — cropped area fell to 45,000 hectares against 1.43 lakh hectares in Vizianagaram and to 2.2 lakh hectares against 3,47,519 hectares in Srikakulam — followed by a deep depression whose flash floods destroyed the standing crops of the minority who did sow using borewells and Nagavali canal water. The structural causes visible in the source are dependence on timely rainfall, the absence of assured irrigation in 27 mandals of Vizianagaram and 30 of Srikakulam, and reservoir or anicut releases (75,000 cusecs from Narayanpur in two days) that inundate downstream farmland. The implications are sunk input costs of ₹9,500–₹18,000 per acre turning into losses of ₹35,000–₹2 lakh, and yield collapse such as maize falling from 25 to 10 quintals per acre. The immediate way forward, as demanded by farmers and conceded by officials, is rapid enumeration of crop damage and prompt financial assistance; the longer-term question is drought- and flood-resilient cropping choices, assured irrigation and better coordination of water releases with crop calendars.

Key terms

El Niño: A climate condition associated in this case with deficient monsoon rainfall over North Coastal Andhra Pradesh during the Kharif season.
Deep depression: An intense low-pressure weather system; the one that crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast triggered the floods described in the story.
Kharif season: The monsoon cropping season beginning in June, when most farmers here stayed away from sowing due to drought.
Anicut: A weir or diversion structure across a river; the Narayanpur Anicut released nearly 75,000 cusecs, flooding Burja mandal.
Cusec: Cubic feet per second, the unit used to measure the water discharge from the Narayanpur Anicut.
MARKFED: The state marketing federation; its Director Anepu Ramakrishna received the farmers' memorandum on crop damage relief.

Practice questions

Examine how successive drought and flood events within a single Kharif season affect smallholder farm economics, using the case of North Coastal Andhra Pradesh.
Deficient rainfall reduced cropped area sharply in Srikakulam and Vizianagaram, yet floods destroyed the irrigated crop. What does this reveal about the adequacy of irrigation and water management in rain-fed districts?
Discuss the design of crop-damage enumeration and relief mechanisms in India. What reforms would make compensation timely for farmers who lose both inputs and standing crops?

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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