The Andhra Pradesh government has set up a State El Niño Command and Control Centre at the Integrated Call Centre (ICC) premises in Gannavaram of Krishna district to provide timely advisories and support to farmers in the event of rainfall de¿cit and water stress.
The centre uses APAIMS 2.0 digital technology and satellite-based resources to detect drought-like conditions and water scarcity at an early stage. It consolidates 15-day rainfall forecasts and satellite-derived crop condition alerts to facilitate timely dissemination of technical advisories, information and details of government schemes to farmers.
Oႈcials reviewed the functioning of the Integrated Call Centre’s toll-free number 155251. Besides responding to calls from farmers, control room staႇ proactively contact farmers in areas identi¿ed as vulnerable to rainfall stress based on satellite alerts. Crop conditions are assessed at the ¿eld level and technical guidance is provided.
As part of a random check, the of- ¿cials spoke to farmers of Shirpi village in Beluguppa mandal, Anantapur district, along with the local Rythu Seva Kendram Agricultural Assistant and Mandal Agricultural Oႈcer. They gathered information on crop conditions and rainfall and compared the inputs with satellite data displayed on the centre’s video wall.
