-The Times of India VIJAYAWADA: In what could be a disturbing scenario, agriculture experts point out that Andhra Pradesh is facing the worst-ever drought situation in its history as more than 370 of the total 670 mandals are severely ravaged by drought. "This is the worst drought ever. While there were no rains in September, all districts except East and West Godavari are facing acute drought. The number of drought-affected mandals will...

-Scroll.in The squabble with Karnataka over river water has heightened agricultural distress, leaving many with significant debt. The three acres that Jayamohan owns in Orathanadu in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu has not seen a harvest since January. Encouraged by a bountiful north-east monsoon last November, Jayamohan anticipated a normal south-west monsoon in the middle of this year. He prepared his land in May for the kuruvai summer crop season (which is known...

-The Times of India VIJAYAWADA: The agriculture sector in Andhra Pradesh is in the throes of a major crisis. Notwithstanding the claims of chief minister Chandrababu Naidu that his government has won the war on drought by deploying rain guns and taking up drought-mitigation measures, the kharif season -- which has just ended -- has been a big dampener for the farming community. What is shocking is that crop acreage in the...

-The Telegraph The death of more than 50 dengue patients in eight city hospitals this year offers a peek into the severity of the menace but the extent of the crisis remains unknown in the absence of figures from the government. To put things in perspective, the disease caused by the Aedes aegypti mosquito had claimed less than 20 lives across the state last year. The Mamata Banerjee government's decision to prefer secrecy...

Expanding irrigation network in the country is considered as essential to raise agricultural production in the face of increased frequency of droughts. However, a newly released report from the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare shows that there has actually been a fall in the growth rate of net irrigated area during the recent two decades. The report entitled State of Indian Agriculture 2015-16 reveals that the growth rate in...