Background/Objectives: To study year wise drought affected Mandals of the study area, to study year wise Rainfall particulars of the region as a whole and to study the impact of drought on agricultural production of Rayalaseema region.
Methods/Statistical Analysis: The districts of Rayalaseema region is selected for the present study. The study is based on secondary data, such as Chief Planning Office (CPO), (Anantapur, Chittoor, Kadapa& Kurnool), District Agricultural office of the region, Memorandum on drought in Andhra Pradesh- 2014, District Handbooks of Rayalaseema region (2014-15 & 2015-16).
Findings: The present study is focusing on Rayalaseema districts of Andhra Pradesh that is a completely drought-affected area. The recurrent failure of monsoons affects the crop production in the Rayalaseema region. This underdeveloped region has the dubious distinction of distress from the twin problems of drought and poverty. It has been noticed in that the total irrigated the area continuously decline in Rayalaseema varies from year to year. The cropping pattern is also varied with the effect of climate, rainfall, and lack of other irrigation sources. The basic change that occurred in the cropping pattern is that there was a significant decline of the area under food crops especially jowar, Bajra and maize in the whole region. The percentage of area under non-food crops has more than doubled. Commercial crops (Sugarcane, Sunflower, and Cotton) have replaced the area under food crops in the region.