WESTERN VIDARBHA FACES AGRICULTURAL EMERGENCY: 40 LAKH HECTARES OF COTTON, SOYBEAN AND TUR UNDER SEVERE STRESS
WESTERN VIDARBHA FACES AGRICULTURAL EMERGENCY: 40 LAKH HECTARES OF COTTON, SOYBEAN AND TUR UNDER SEVERE STRESS
August rainfall deficit reaches 58% across Vidarbha; Akola 84%, Amravati 82%, Yavatmal 78%
September 6, 2026
According to the rainfall figures cited by Tiwari, Vidarbha recorded a massive 58% rainfall deficit in August 2026. The situation was even more severe in key Western Vidarbha districts: Akola 84%, Amravati 82%, Yavatmal 78%, Wardha 73%, Washim 71% and Buldhana 61% rainfall deficit.
“This year's monsoon has turned into an agricultural emergency for Western Vidarbha. Instead of waiting for the crop to completely dry up and then conducting panchnamas, the government must act now to save the standing crop and the farmer. Prime Minister Narendra Modi must immediately visit suicide-hit Vidarbha and announce special assistance for the 40 lakh hectare rain-fed belt along with a permanent Integrated Agricultural Crisis Elimination Programme,” said Kishore Tiwari, farmer leader and rural economy researcher.
The crisis has come at the most sensitive stage of the crop cycle. Cotton is at the square, flowering and boll-formation stages; soybean is at flowering and pod-filling stages; and tur growth is being severely affected. A prolonged dry spell at this stage can directly hit yields.
Tiwari pointed out that in August 2026, Vidarbha received only 125.5 mm of rainfall against the normal 297.1 mm — a deficit of 58%. Although the cumulative deficit from June to August is around 22%, the agricultural impact cannot be judged merely by seasonal averages.
“For agriculture, when the rain falls, how long the dry spell lasts and at what crop stage the water becomes unavailable are as important as the total rainfall,” Tiwari said.
40 LAKH HECTARES: GOVERNMENT MUST NOT WAIT FOR THE CROP TO DIE
Western Vidarbha's six districts have a large rain-fed farming belt dependent on cotton, soybean, tur, moong and urad.
Tiwari has demanded an independent scientific assessment of approximately 40 lakh hectares without waiting for the crops to completely fail.
He has called for the government to use satellite data, soil-moisture measurements, field-level crop assessment and village-wise surveys and bring the actual situation before the country within the next seven days.
“The government must not wait for the crop to completely dry up before conducting a panchnama of 40 lakh hectares. The real situation must be established within seven days through satellite information, soil moisture, actual crop conditions and village-wise surveys,” Tiwari said.
CLIMATE CHANGE IS CREATING A NEW AGRICULTURAL CRISIS
Tiwari said the current situation cannot be dismissed as merely another year of irregular rainfall.
The region is increasingly facing a dangerous combination of excessive rainfall followed by prolonged dry spells, sudden heavy rain and rising temperatures.
“Earlier, a farmer faced either drought or excessive rainfall. Now, in the same season, excessive rain, a prolonged dry spell, sudden torrential rain and rising temperatures can all strike the same farm. Yet agricultural policy continues to operate on old climate assumptions,” he said.
Tiwari has demanded a separate 25-year taluka-wise climate-agriculture audit covering rainfall, number of rainy days, consecutive dry days, extreme rainfall, temperature, evaporation, soil moisture and agricultural production.
SCIENTIFIC DROUGHT ASSESSMENT MUST BEGIN IMMEDIATELY
Tiwari said Maharashtra's drought assessment framework considers not only rainfall deviation but also dry spells, sowing conditions, vegetation indices and soil moisture.
He has therefore demanded immediate taluka-wise scientific assessment of Western Vidarbha and commencement of the drought declaration process wherever the prescribed conditions are met.
“The government must not hide the 60% to 80% district-wise August rainfall deficit behind a seasonal average. In agriculture, the timing of rainfall is as important as the total quantity,” Tiwari said.
815 FARMER SUICIDES: WHO WILL BEAR THE COST OF THE NEXT CROP FAILURE?
The new crop crisis is unfolding against an already devastating farmer-suicide situation.
According to the figures cited by Tiwari, 415 farmer suicides were recorded in the five districts of Amravati division from January to June 2026 — Yavatmal 128, Akola 130, Amravati 176, Buldhana 169 and Washim 112.
Tiwari warned that a new crop-production shock could deepen an already severe cycle of debt, uncertain farm incomes and farmer distress.
“Looking at these 815 deaths as individual failures would mean running away from reality. Crop loans, production costs, market prices, insurance, irrigation and climate shocks combine to push the farmer into economic collapse. Potential crop failure across 40 lakh hectares could make this crisis even more frightening,” he warned.
“2006 SAW NATIONAL INTERVENTION. 2026 DEMANDS IT AGAIN.”
Tiwari recalled that farmer suicides in Western Vidarbha have been a major issue since the mid-1990s.
In 2006, then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh visited the suicide-hit areas of Amravati, Wardha and Yavatmal, meeting farmers and families affected by suicides. This was followed by programmes involving credit, interest relief, institutional lending, irrigation and livelihood support, as well as subsequent national policy interventions.
“Twenty years later, if farmer suicides continue in the same region and climate change has now placed the kharif economy of 40 lakh hectares at risk, it is time to examine the success and failure of earlier packages and fundamentally change the policy approach,” Tiwari said.
“PRIME MINISTER MODI MUST COME TO WESTERN VIDARBHA”
Tiwari has directly appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Western Vidarbha and personally assess the crisis.
“Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, Western Vidarbha is once again standing on the threshold of a historic crisis. In 2006, the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh came to this suicide-hit region and listened to farmers in their homes. Today, climate change has made the crisis even more complex. Do not look only at files in Delhi or state-level rainfall averages. Come yourself to the farms of Yavatmal, Amravati, Akola, Washim, Buldhana and Wardha. See the drying cotton and soybean, speak to farmer widows, listen to tribal and rain-fed farmers and then announce an Integrated Agricultural Crisis Elimination Programme for Western Vidarbha,” Tiwari said.
NOT JUST LOAN WAIVER — GUARANTEE FRESH CROP CREDIT
Tiwari demanded that eligible distressed farmers who are denied fresh crop loans because of previous outstanding debt must be guaranteed adequate institutional crop credit before the season.
He also demanded branch-wise social audits of bank lending, with applications, approvals, rejections and reasons for rejection made public.
Special arrangements must be made for tribal farmers, Forest Rights Act holders, small and marginal farmers and farmers facing documentation difficulties.
FARMERS MUST HAVE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE CROPS AND SEED TECHNOLOGY
Tiwari said Western Vidarbha cannot remain permanently trapped in a high-risk cotton-soybean cycle.
Farmers should have genuine freedom to choose crops and certified legal seed technology according to local soil, water availability, climate and market conditions.
Public agricultural universities and research institutions must intensify work on varieties capable of tolerating low rainfall, heat and prolonged dry spells.
MSP ANNOUNCEMENT IS MEANINGLESS WITHOUT GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
For 2026-27, the Centre has fixed MSP at:
Yellow soybean — ₹5,708 per quintal
Tur — ₹8,450 per quintal
Medium-staple cotton — ₹8,267 per quintal
Long-staple cotton — ₹8,667 per quintal
Tiwari said the gap between an announced MSP and the actual market price received by farmers makes the declaration meaningless.
He has demanded that government procurement of cotton, soybean and tur must begin from the first day of the season at MSP and in adequate quantities.
“MSP WITH ONE HAND, DUTY-FREE COTTON IMPORT WITH THE OTHER — WHO WILL PROTECT THE FARMER?”
The Centre has temporarily waived customs duty on cotton imports from June 1 to October 31, 2026.
“The textile industry may get cheaper raw material, but why should the cotton farmer of Vidarbha pay the price? Before framing import-export policy, an independent assessment of its impact on farmers' income must be made mandatory,” Tiwari demanded.
He has called for a mandatory farmer-impact assessment before major import-export decisions involving cotton, soybean, edible oil and pulses.
CROP INSURANCE MUST BECOME A FARMER'S RIGHT, NOT AN INSURANCE COMPANY'S BUSINESS
Tiwari has demanded immediate assessment of crop losses in Western Vidarbha and expedited compensation for eligible farmers, noting that drought and dry spells fall within insured risks.
He has also demanded district-wise public disclosure of:
Number of claims filed
Claims approved
Claims rejected
Premium received by insurance companies
Compensation actually paid to farmers
12-POINT INTEGRATED AGRICULTURAL CRISIS ELIMINATION PROGRAMME FOR WESTERN VIDARBHA
“SAVE THE 40 LAKH HECTARES AND YOU SAVE LAKHS OF FAMILIES”
“The central issue today is the crop standing across 40 lakh hectares and the future of the lakhs of rural families dependent on it. Rainfall is not in the government's hands. But after rainfall fails, whether the farmer is left alone at the doors of banks, insurance companies and markets — or whether the entire government machinery stands behind him — is in the government's hands.”
Tiwari said the present crisis requires more than another short-term relief package.
“In 2006, the country recognised the crisis of farmer suicides in Vidarbha. In 2026, climate change has made the crisis even more serious. Do not postpone the problem with yet another package. Bring credit, crops, seed technology, water, crop insurance, MSP, government procurement, import-export policy, employment and social security under one permanent programme.”
He concluded:
“If the government intervenes today, the crop can be saved, the farmer can be saved, and thousands of families can be prevented from entering a new cycle of debt and suicide. Saving the standing crop and the living farmer today must be the government's first responsibility — not merely paying compensation after the season is over.”
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