{"id":64388,"date":"2025-04-23T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/?post_type=ground_up_stories&p=64388"},"modified":"2025-09-03T17:14:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T11:44:34","slug":"for-farmers-in-andhra-pradesh-maize-is-the-way-out-of-the-climate-crisis","status":"publish","type":"ground_up_stories","link":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/ground-up-stories\/for-farmers-in-andhra-pradesh-maize-is-the-way-out-of-the-climate-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"For farmers in Andhra Pradesh, maize is the way out of the climate crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>
After years of crop failures due to erratic rain and dry spells, farmers are switching to maize as it requires less water, withstands any weather, and gives good yields. | Picture courtesy: Paul Babu\/101 Reporters<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The average annual temperature<\/a> in Andhra Pradesh’s Ananthapuramu district has been increasing every year. Peak summer temperatures, which ranged between 30°C and 35°C in 2014, soared to 44.7°C in 2024. Additionally, frequent dry spells and irregular rainfall have led to water scarcity. Together, these changes have impacted agriculture and necessitated climate adaptation strategies for the farmers. <\/p>

Farmers in the area have traditionally grown paddy and groundnut, which are water-intensive crops. However, in 1998, after fertiliser representatives informed them about the profitability and water-efficiency of maize, they began cultivating it on a small scale. Since then, maize production has gradually increased.<\/p>

Vadde Uligappa, a farmer who has been cultivating maize since 2012, says, “Irregular rains and long dry spells began to fail our crops approximately 15 years ago. Farming felt like a game of luck. But after we switched to maize, things changed. It requires less water, withstands any weather, and gives good yields. Even if the rains are erratic, we do not suffer big losses. Maize is a major poultry feed, so its demand naturally gives us good prices. Most of us do not even take loans for it.”<\/p>

Paddy and other crops that require more water are now grown mostly by those who own more than 10 acres of land. “Those with borewells sometimes go for groundnuts, chillies, or cotton, and a few even try sugarcane. However, all of these crops need plenty of water and are not climate-smart like maize,” adds Uligappa. <\/p>

H Prem Kumar, another farmer, says, “Earlier, we used to grow maize as an intercrop during the kharif (monsoon) season to efficiently manage the water allocated from the Tungabhadra River for both paddy and maize. Now we grow maize twice and paddy once a year.” <\/p>

Maize even fetches prices comparable to paddy, so farmers don’t bear any losses. While the investment per acre for maize ranges between INR 20,000 and 30,000, farmers report earning up to INR 50,000. Poultry farm owners also procure maize directly from growers at reasonable prices. As for paddy, the total investment is between INR 30,000 and 40,000, while earnings range from INR 50,000 to 70,000—and sometimes up to INR 80,000—depending on the variety and market conditions. <\/p>

Maize requires 90 percent less water and 70 percent less electricity to pump water compared to paddy cultivation.  <\/p>

“For paddy, we need to keep the field flooded continuously from two weeks before sowing until harvest. But we can grow maize without having to even till the land,” says Chennareddy Gopal, a farmer from Bommanahal mandal, Ananthapuramu. <\/p>

Paul Babu is an independent journalist. This is an edited excerpt of an article that was <\/em>originally published<\/em><\/a> on <\/em>101 Reporters<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> <\/p>

—<\/p>

Know more:<\/strong> Learn how<\/a> farmers in Rajasthan are adopting climate-resilient moong. <\/p>

Do more:<\/strong> Connect with the author at typiaij@gmail.com<\/a> to learn more about and support their work. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":64392,"template":"","categories":[5,1889],"tags":[466,3625,3655],"series":[],"meta-filter":[639],"schema-filter":[743],"no-display":[],"class_list":["post-64388","ground_up_stories","type-ground_up_stories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture","category-climate-emergency","tag-climate-change","tag-farming","tag-irrigation","contributor-paul-babu","states-andhra-pradesh","meta-filter-curated-article","schema-filter-article"],"yoast_head":"\nFor farmers in Andhra Pradesh, maize is the way out of the climate crisis | IDR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As rainfall patterns shift and water sources deplete, paddy farmers in Andhra Pradesh are turning to maize for its climate resilience.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/ground-up-stories\/for-farmers-in-andhra-pradesh-maize-is-the-way-out-of-the-climate-crisis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"kn_IN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"For farmers in Andhra Pradesh, maize is the way out of the climate crisis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After years of crop failures due to erratic rain and dry spells, farmers are switching to maize as it requires less water, withstands any weather, and\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/ground-up-stories\/for-farmers-in-andhra-pradesh-maize-is-the-way-out-of-the-climate-crisis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"India Development Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-03T11:44:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Maize_climateresilience.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"For farmers in Andhra Pradesh, maize is the way out of the climate crisis | IDR","description":"As rainfall patterns shift and water sources deplete, paddy farmers in Andhra Pradesh are turning to maize for its climate resilience.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/ground-up-stories\/for-farmers-in-andhra-pradesh-maize-is-the-way-out-of-the-climate-crisis\/","og_locale":"kn_IN","og_type":"article","og_title":"For farmers in Andhra Pradesh, maize is the way out of the climate crisis","og_description":"After years of crop failures due to erratic rain and dry spells, farmers are switching to maize as it requires less water, withstands any weather, and","og_url":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/ground-up-stories\/for-farmers-in-andhra-pradesh-maize-is-the-way-out-of-the-climate-crisis\/","og_site_name":"India Development Review","article_modified_time":"2025-09-03T11:44:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Maize_climateresilience.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/ground-up-stories\/for-farmers-in-andhra-pradesh-maize-is-the-way-out-of-the-climate-crisis\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/ground-up-stories\/for-farmers-in-andhra-pradesh-maize-is-the-way-out-of-the-climate-crisis\/"},"author":{"name":"Tanupriya Singh","@id":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/#\/schema\/person\/99a41450fd84a2aec650108ca49cbda2"},"headline":"For farmers in Andhra Pradesh, maize is the way out of the climate crisis","datePublished":"2025-04-23T06:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-03T11:44:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/ground-up-stories\/for-farmers-in-andhra-pradesh-maize-is-the-way-out-of-the-climate-crisis\/"},"wordCount":516,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/ground-up-stories\/for-farmers-in-andhra-pradesh-maize-is-the-way-out-of-the-climate-crisis\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Maize_climateresilience.webp","keywords":["climate change","farming","irrigation"],"articleSection":["Agriculture","Climate Emergency"],"inLanguage":"kn-IN"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/ground-up-stories\/for-farmers-in-andhra-pradesh-maize-is-the-way-out-of-the-climate-crisis\/","url":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/ground-up-stories\/for-farmers-in-andhra-pradesh-maize-is-the-way-out-of-the-climate-crisis\/","name":"For farmers in Andhra Pradesh, maize is the way out of the climate crisis | IDR","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/ground-up-stories\/for-farmers-in-andhra-pradesh-maize-is-the-way-out-of-the-climate-crisis\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/ground-up-stories\/for-farmers-in-andhra-pradesh-maize-is-the-way-out-of-the-climate-crisis\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Maize_climateresilience.webp","datePublished":"2025-04-23T06:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-03T11:44:34+00:00","description":"As rainfall patterns shift and water sources deplete, paddy farmers in Andhra Pradesh are turning to maize for its climate resilience.","inLanguage":"kn-IN","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/idronline.org\/ground-up-stories\/for-farmers-in-andhra-pradesh-maize-is-the-way-out-of-the-climate-crisis\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"kn-IN","@id":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/ground-up-stories\/for-farmers-in-andhra-pradesh-maize-is-the-way-out-of-the-climate-crisis\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Maize_climateresilience.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Maize_climateresilience.webp","width":1024,"height":640,"caption":"The image features a maize field in Bommanahal village in Ananthapuramu district._Climate resilience"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/","name":"India Development Review","description":"India's first and largest online journal for leaders in the development community","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"kn-IN"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/#organization","name":"India Development Review","url":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"kn-IN","@id":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/idr-logo-without-tagline-sm.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/idr-logo-without-tagline-sm.webp","width":1,"height":1,"caption":"India Development Review"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/#\/schema\/person\/99a41450fd84a2aec650108ca49cbda2","name":"Tanupriya Singh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"kn-IN","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0ebead8404945b426b8aa1190f23170a738252a95a34c56fe3153e30d0a18576?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0ebead8404945b426b8aa1190f23170a738252a95a34c56fe3153e30d0a18576?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0ebead8404945b426b8aa1190f23170a738252a95a34c56fe3153e30d0a18576?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tanupriya Singh"},"url":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/author\/tsingh\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ground_up_stories\/64388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ground_up_stories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ground_up_stories"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64388"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=64388"},{"taxonomy":"meta-filter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/meta-filter?post=64388"},{"taxonomy":"schema-filter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/schema-filter?post=64388"},{"taxonomy":"no-display","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/no-display?post=64388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}