Overview
- The Ministry of Agriculture reported as of Sept 4 that total kharif sowing was 1,086.31 lakh hectares, about 1.6% below last year’s 1,104 lakh hectares.
- Rice acreage fell to 42.18 million hectares, down about 3.7% from a year earlier, with maize, soybean and cotton also planted on materially less area than in 2025.
- District data show severe local collapses of paddy and rain‑fed crops, including Vizianagaram where paddy area dropped from about 100,251 hectares to 20,760 hectares and large losses in Sangareddy and Kurnool‑Nandyal‑Kadapa.
- Low reservoir inflows and dry minor irrigation tanks have amplified damage, with Singur holding just over 4 TMCft against a 29.91 TMCft capacity and over 1,100 lakes below half capacity in some districts.
- Farmers face heavy input losses and a high risk of missing relief because roughly half have not completed mandatory e‑crop registration, and analysts warn El Niño’s uneven rainfall will determine final yields and procurement outcomes.