# Andhra Pradesh sustains kharif crops despite 51% rainfall deficit 2026-08-27T08:03:52+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Andhra Pradesh raised kharif crops on 20.35 lakh hectares despite a 51% rainfall deficit, Agriculture Minister K. Atchannaidu said on Wednesday. The state received 192.8mm of rain between June and August 25, against the normal 393.7mm, but shifted acreage toward less water-intensive crops like pulses and oilseeds. Pulse cultivation rose 23.6%, with red gram up from 1.92 lakh to 2.30 lakh hectares. Paddy remained the largest crop at 10.37 lakh hectares. The minister credited advance planning from February, including district drought plans for Rayalaseema, Prakasam and Markapuram, and a state programme called Raithanna Meekosam, El Niño Impact Mitigation Plan, launched on August 7. Crop insurance coverage doubled: insured area rose from 7.83 lakh to 15.1 lakh hectares, and applications from non-loanee farmers jumped from two lakh to 20.35 lakh. Crops worth Rs 13,983 crore were insured. The minister also alleged the previous YSRCP government left Rs 2,000 crore in unpaid insurance premiums, which the current government has begun clearing with a Rs 250 crore budget allocation. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Andhra Pradesh's 51% rainfall deficit is severe but not unprecedented: the state faced a 44% deficit in 2018 under a different government. The shift to pulses and oilseeds mirrors the central government's crop diversification strategy under the National Food Security Mission, which offers incentives for moving away from paddy. The sharp jump in insurance uptake, from 19.5 lakh to 35.1 lakh applications, reflects both the state's push and the 2% premium cap for voluntary enrollees under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. The Rs 2,000 crore in unpaid premiums the minister cited would be the previous government's liability under the same scheme. The real measure of this strategy will come when the agriculture department releases final yield data for kharif 2026, typically in December. ## Coverage - thehindu.com Led entirely with the minister's claim of advance planning success, no deficit data or opposition response offered This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Andhra Pradesh, El Nino, K. Atchannaidu, kharif, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Raithanna Meekosam Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/andhra-pradesh-sustains-kharif-crops-despite-51-rainfall-deficit/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/andhra-pradesh-sustains-kharif-crops-despite-51-rainfall-deficit/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/