At a meeting called to discuss Maharashtra's worsening drought, ministers, MPs and MLAs sat around a table in Nanded. Farmers waiting outside worried about dying crops, empty wells and how long their cattle would survive. A video from the meeting went viral and triggered a massive row amid the drought crisis across much of the state. That's because, on the plates before those discussing the drought were cashews and almonds.
Maharashtra's farmers, including the fruit growers, are facing what many describe as one of the worst droughts in decades. They say it is worse than the drought of 1972, when three successive poor monsoons devastated Maharashtra. Poor and erratic rainfall amid El Nino has already ruined crops across drought-hit Maharashtra, but farmers and fruit growers face a bigger battle of keeping their trees and vines alive. If these perennial plantations die, farmers will face a setback of several years before newly planted orchards begin bearing fruit.
Grape growers in Maharashtra's Nashik belt, the heart of India's wine industry, say vines have begun drying. Farmers growing pomegranates, bananas and mangoes are scrambling for water as wells and other water sources go dry. With much of this season's produce already feared lost, their priority now is to save the valuable asset — the trees and vines. If they are gone, it would take years to rebound.
The scale of the drought explains the desperation of the farmers. Maharashtra has declared 265 of its 358 talukas drought affected, covering nearly three quarters of the state. This followed an 18.8% rainfall deficit and prolonged dry spells, with Marathwada and Vidarbha among the worst affected regions. The damage to the cash crops matters beyond Maharashtra because the state is a horticultural powerhouse, leading India's grape production and producing huge quantities of pomegranates and bananas that travel to markets across India and abroad. Maharashtra alone accounted for more than 69% of India's grape production in 2024-25, according to the Union Agriculture Ministry. Meanwhile, grapes, pomegranates, mangoes and bananas are all important components of India's fruit exports.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Fadnavis has himself warned that this year's drought could turn out worse than 1972.
The Devendra Fadnavis government has announced measures including loan restructuring, land revenue concessions, a pause on the recovery of agricultural loans and electricity-related relief. However, crop-loss compensation is subject to field assessments, and opposition parties have questioned the absence of immediate direct financial assistance. But fruit growers say what they need most urgently is water, with some demanding tanker supplies and even water trains to keep their trees and vines alive.
The crisis has prompted intervention from New Delhi. Last week, Fadnavis met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and sought financial assistance through the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). Shah assured him of central support. An inter-ministerial team was subsequently sent to Maharashtra to assess crop losses and relief requirements between October 8 and 11, The New Indian Express reported.
THE CROP IS LOST, NOW SAVE THE VINES
October is a crucial period in Maharashtra's vineyards. "Vines undergo fruit pruning around this time [around October], setting in motion the cycle that produces the grapes harvested until March and April [in the next year]. The disruption in the harvest cycle could have consequences far beyond the farm, casting a shadow over industrial output and the wider economy," said Nasir Hussain, a Special Correspondent at Kisan Tak, India Today Digital's sister portal.
Kailas Bhosale, the president of the Maharashtra Grape Growers' Association, told Kisan Tak that farmers cannot carry out normal vineyard operations without water. "It has not rained for two months," Bhosale said. With reservoir water also restricted for agriculture and horticulture, he said the government should arrange train tankers to at least keep the vines alive.
Losing grapes this year means losing one harvest. Losing the vine means losing several years. Bhosale said that if vines die, grape growers will have to plant afresh and would have to wait for at least four years before the new plants begin yielding commercially.
"Grape cultivation requires substantial investment. Growers spend an estimated Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 per acre per season on inputs alone. This indicates the scale of potential losses if vineyards fail to survive the drought," Nasir Hussain said.
That would hit one of India's most valuable fruit belts. Maharashtra is by far India's biggest grape producer, with Nashik, Sangli, Solapur and Pune among its principal growing districts. India exported 2.24 lakh tonnes of grapes worth nearly $368 million in 2025-26, with the Netherlands, Russia, the UK, the UAE and Bangladesh among the biggest destinations.
The industry was already under pressure before the present drought. Nashik's grape exports fell 9.6% in 2025-26, from around 1.6 lakh tonnes to 1.4 lakh tonnes, after prolonged rain and hailstorms damaged vineyards and reduced export-quality produce, The Times of India reported, citing agriculture officials and industry representatives.
MANGO, POMEGRANATE AND BANANA TREES AT RISK TOO
The same fear is spreading across Maharashtra's other fruit-growing belts. Farmers of mango, pomegranate and banana in Maharashtra are also scrambling to save plantations that took years of investment to establish and would take years to replace if they die.
The crisis has also spread to Maharashtra's orange belt. The Times of India on October 8 reported orange orchards in Amravati were suffering extensive damage. It reported that trees had been cut down across an estimated 5,000 hectares, while surviving orchards faced problems with flowering, fruit development and fruit size.
Anil Meher, president of KVK Narayangaon, told Kisan Tak that, at current levels of stress, farmers might be able to save only around 30% of fruit production. Even that, he said, "would require urgent intervention, including shade nets to reduce exposure of trees and soil to direct sunlight and higher government subsidies for installing them."
A 50% agricultural shade net, which cuts roughly half the incoming sunlight, is currently quoted by a Maharashtra supplier at around Rs 17 per square metre. It puts the cost of the net alone at around Rs 69,000 to cover an acre. Poles, wires and installation would come at an additional cost. With a value-chain study citing the National Statistical Office's 2019 data putting the average area under grapes in Maharashtra at around one to two acres per grower, the net alone could therefore cost Rs 69,000 to Rs 1.38 lakh for a typical holding.
So, the stakes are substantial. According to the Maharashtra government's Directorate of Horticulture, the state had about 1.67 lakh hectares under mango, 1.41 lakh hectares under banana, 1.19 lakh hectares under grapes and 1.07 lakh hectares under pomegranate in 2024-25.
Mango farmers have already endured a punishing year. Extreme weather damaged Maharashtra's prized Alphonso crop earlier in 2026, with a government-backed survey finding losses of 85 to 90% in Devgad.
Pomegranate yield is another major concern, particularly across Solapur, Ahilyanagar, Pune and adjoining belts. Unlike a seasonal field crop that can be resown when the rains return, an orchard is a culmination of years of investment and patience. Saving the plant through a drought therefore matters more to the farmer.
Banana growers are also taking a hit in drought-hit Jalgaon, Maharashtra's largest banana-producing district. There, scanty September rainfall has hurt fruit quality and wholesale prices have plunged. A farmer destroyed his four-acre plantation after traders offered him just Rs 3 a kg, the Hindustan Times reported.
FARMERS DEMAND WATER FROM GOVT. IT COSTS RS 3,000 A DAY
The crisis has forced farmers to buy water to keep their farms alive. A fruit farmer told Kisan Tak that the government should arrange emergency supplies, including water trains of the kind Maharashtra has used during earlier droughts.
In Shahapur in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, farmer Badrinath Bharat told The Indian Express that he was spending Rs 3,000 a day on two tankers after his well dried up. He had already lost his cotton and maize, and was using purchased water for his ginger crop, his family and 10 cattle.
Across Marathwada, 74 of 76 talukas have been declared drought affected. By the end of September, 277 tankers were supplying 160 villages in the region as wells and other local sources dried up.
Agriculture expert Vijay Borade from Marathwada told Kisan Tak that he considers the present situation worse than the devastating Maharashtra drought of 1972. "Today we have foodgrains, but we don't have water or fodder for livestock," he said.
What has made the current situation worse is how quickly conditions have deteriorated. By mid-September, nearly 84% of Maharashtra was abnormally dry or in drought, while 56.5% of the state was in severe drought or worse. Just a month earlier in August, the severe drought figure was around 14%.
The central team's assessment report is expected within seven days, Maharashtra Agriculture Commissioner Suraj Mandhare said, according to The New Indian Express.
Apart from fruits, immediate casualties include soybean, cotton and maize. But the damage to horticulture this year would have a long-lasting impact. A failed soybean crop hurts one season. A dead grapevine, pomegranate plant or a mango tree can erase several years of investment and even prospects of future income.
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