Delayed monsoon rains have slowed Telangana’s farm activity to one of its lowest levels in recent years, with paddy emerging as the biggest casualty of the uneven rainfall pattern. Farmers across several districts are holding back from transplanting, waiting for sustained showers before committing to the kharif season.As of July 14, sowing was completed in 60.2 lakh acres, covering just 45.4% of Telangana’s normal Vanakalam cultivated area of 1.3 crore acres. The figures, compiled under the Vanakalam-2026 contingency plan prepared by the Telangana govt with Professor Jayashankar Telangana Agricultural University (PJTAU) and ICAR-CRIDA, highlight the impact of delayed and deficient rains.
Vanakalam in balance but monsoon falters
Paddy takes biggest hitPaddy, the state’s key crop, has taken the biggest hit. Against a normal area of 65.9 lakh acres, farmers had cultivated only 6.3 lakh acres by mid-July — just 9.6% of the expected coverage. Though slightly higher than the 5.6 lakh acres recorded during the same period last year, the crop remains far behind its usual pace.The setback comes after strong agricultural performance in recent years. Telangana recorded total cropped areas of 1.28 crore acres in Vanakalam 2023, 1.29 crore acres in 2024 and 1.38 crore acres in 2025. Paddy acreage had also increased from 65.9 lakh acres in 2023 to 69.8 lakh acres last year.
Mandal-wise rainfall status
Cotton, meanwhile, has emerged as the season’s dominant crop, with sowing completed in 41.5 lakh acres, or 87.5% of its normal area. Nearly seven out of every 10 acres cultivated so far are under cotton. Soybean has also performed well, covering 3.3 lakh acres, or 80.5% of its normal area.Red gram leads the wayPulses have reached 4.1 lakh acres (63.2%), led by red gram, while maize covered 3.6 lakh acres (58.9%) and oilseeds 3.3 lakh acres (nearly 76%).District-wise trends show a sharp variation. Sangareddy leads with 81.2% of normal sowing completed, followed by Asifabad (79.8%), Nizamabad (61.5%) and Kothagudem (61.3%). Wanaparthy recorded the lowest progress at 7.9%, followed by Medak (14.5%), Jagtial and Suryapet (15.6% each).
Key takeaways
The delayed sowing reflects the rainfall shortfall. Telangana received 158.4 mm rainfall against the normal 228 mm by July 14, a deficit of 30%. As many as 27 districts were categorised as deficit and one as large deficit.
