New Delhi, 24 October 2026: Lack of rain in monsoon has created a big crisis for crores of farmers in the country, ranging from crop failure to sowing of the next season. Due to severe shortage of rain during the monsoon season, the pressure on agriculture has increased a lot. According to the data of 'India Drought Monitor' of IIT Gandhinagar, about 52.5 percent of the country's area is currently facing a very serious situation like drought or drought. This proportion was 38 percent in the month of August, which increased to 52.5 percent in September. States like Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh of the country have been hit the hardest by this drought, due to which the investment made by the farmers for the crops has gone down and the challenge of repaying the earlier loans has become unbearable.
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Loss worth billions of rupees in Maharashtra and Karnataka
The severe impact of drought is clearly visible on agriculture and rural livelihoods in various parts of the country. Soybean and cotton crops have suffered huge damage in Vidarbha and Marathwada areas of Maharashtra. In districts like Yavatmal of the state, farmers have spent up to Rs 2.75 lakh, but the income is expected to be Rs 90 thousand. Where earlier 25 quintals of soybean was produced, this time only 5 quintals of soybean is produced. Due to shortage of fodder for animals, farmers are forced to sell even their expensive bulls at half the price. On the other hand, according to preliminary data in 101 talukas in Karnataka, crop loss has been estimated to be around Rs 18 thousand crore. Recording 53.4 percent less rainfall than normal in Andhra Pradesh, the government has declared 388 divisions of 21 districts as drought-hit.
Due to crop failure, not only the farmers but also the income of daily wage laborers working in the fields has been greatly affected. Now the biggest question facing the farmers is from where to get the money for sowing the next Rabi crop. After huge losses in Kharif crop, farmers do not have enough money left for seeding, fertiliser, irrigation and labour. In such a situation, farmers have to take interest money again to harvest the next crop. If timely financial assistance is not provided, sowing will be delayed or the area of sowing will have to be reduced. Due to loss of employment, there have also been reports of people from some rural areas of Maharashtra migrating on large scale in search of work.
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Government relief advertisements
State governments have announced financial assistance and employment schemes to provide relief to farmers suffering from drought. Maharashtra government has declared 305 talukas of the state as drought affected and announced assistance of Rs 5,000 to the farmers and weekly payment under 'Namo Shetkari Scheme'. Also, a provision of Rs 6729 crore has been made for rural employment. Similarly, Karnataka government has also announced input subsidy of Rs 2500 and has sought help from the Centre. However, there is still a huge gap between government advertisements and money reaching the bank accounts of farmers. The number of families seeking work under MNREGA in rural areas is continuously increasing.
Along with money, the shortage of water for the next crop has also reached alarming levels. According to the data of the Central Water Commission, only 71 percent of the water of their total capacity is available in the 178 major reservoirs of the country, which is much less than the average of the last 10 years. The situation in South India is most worrying, where only 42 percent water of their capacity is left in 50 major reservoirs, which was 89.35 percent at this time last year. Due to this reduced water level, there will be huge pressure on irrigation in the future. Thus, drought is not just an event of one season's crop failure but is a major economic blow to the entire rural economy, to overcome which timely compensation, employment and adequate water for irrigation are extremely important.