Farm body says 348 districts across 14 states are facing rainfall deficits; official data show Kharif sowing down 1.73% and rice acreage falling 3.35% from last year
New Delhi: The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has asked the Union government to recognise the situation affecting large parts of the country during the Kharif 2026 season as a “disaster of severe nature” and announce a ₹1.2 lakh crore special drought relief package, warning of a nationwide rural agitation if its demands are not addressed.
In a memorandum sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and copied to Union ministers handling Home, Agriculture, Finance and Rural Development, the Sixteenth Finance Commission and chief ministers, AIKS claimed that 348 districts across 14 states were recording rainfall at least 20 per cent below normal, with prolonged dry spells affecting several districts.
The organisation’s warning comes against the backdrop of a measurable decline in Kharif cultivation.
According to the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare’s weekly crop-area report for August 28, 2026, the total area sown under Kharif crops stood at 1,071.10 lakh hectares, compared with 1,090.01 lakh hectares during the corresponding period last year — a decline of 18.91 lakh hectares, or about 1.73 per cent.
Rice has recorded one of the sharpest acreage declines among major crops. The area under rice stood at 414.10 lakh hectares, against 428.46 lakh hectares a year earlier, a fall of 14.36 lakh hectares, or around 3.35 per cent.
The government data also show a mixed picture across crops. Pulses acreage increased to 115.05 lakh hectares from 113.66 lakh hectares, while coarse cereals declined from 182.11 lakh hectares to 177.90 lakh hectares. Ragi acreage stood at only 5.48 lakh hectares against the normal area of 12.01 lakh hectares.
A week earlier, on August 21, total rice acreage had already been trailing last year by 13.19 lakh hectares, suggesting that the gap had widened further by August 28 despite the advance of the sowing season.
Maharashtra among states flagged by AIKS
AIKS identified the rain-fed agricultural belts of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan among those facing serious stress. It argued that national or state-level rainfall averages could obscure severe shortages experienced at the district, block or village level.
The India Meteorological Department continues to maintain cumulative district-wise rainfall monitoring from June 1 and, in its August 29 weather update, said subdued rainfall activity was likely to continue over Peninsular India during the following week.
However, the figure of 348 districts being 20 per cent or more below normal rainfall is being cited here as an AIKS assessment of government data; TheNews21 has not independently established that exact nationwide district count from an IMD statement available in searchable form.
AIKS president Rajan Kshirsagar accused the Centre of allowing national averages to mask local drought conditions and demanded that drought assessment be conducted at the village and Revenue Circle level, with a role for Gram Sabhas.
The organisation also linked the present agricultural stress to the financial capacity of state governments to undertake relief measures, criticising the existing Centre-State arrangements for disaster funding and tax devolution. These are political and policy assertions made by AIKS and form part of its memorandum to the Centre.
₹500 crore for every severely affected district
Among its principal demands, AIKS has sought a ₹1.2 lakh crore special drought package, along with ₹500 crore for each severely affected district.
It also wants drought to be declared at the village and Revenue Circle level through Gram Sabhas instead of relying on what it described as an inadequate assessment mechanism under the existing drought manual.
The organisation has demanded an increase in tax devolution to states from 41 per cent to 50 per cent, inclusion of cesses and surcharges in the divisible pool and a 90:10 sharing formula for the State Disaster Response Fund.
Its agricultural demands include a legally guaranteed Minimum Support Price based on C2 plus 50 per cent, procurement of the entire produce from drought-hit districts and waiver of crop, consumption and microfinance loans of farmers and rural labourers.
AIKS has additionally sought a 12-month halt to coercive debt recovery.
Other demands include ₹25 lakh ex-gratia for families of farmers and rural labourers who die amid the agrarian crisis, provision of 100 litres of safe drinking water per person per day in affected areas and 200 days of employment under MGNREGA.
Crop insurance overhaul sought
AIKS has also called for restructuring the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) into a universal crop insurance programme operated by public-sector insurers.
It wants automatic coverage for farmers and tenant cultivators, individual farms to become the unit for assessing losses, lower farmer premiums and time-bound settlement of claims.
The organisation has made several wider political demands as part of the same campaign, including changes to disaster-management policy and opposition to proposed trade agreements that, it argues, could expose Indian agricultural producers to cheaper imports.
AIKS general secretary Ravula Venkaiah said any drought-relief programme must be accompanied by measures protecting farmers from debt, falling prices and import competition. The organisation said that failure to act on its demands would lead to coordinated protests by farmers and rural workers across states.
