Drought 2015-16 has affected more than 330 million people in more than 2.5 lakh villages of 266 districts from 11 states. It has had a devastating impact on people’s lives as it affected water availability, agriculture, livelihoods, food production and food security, natural resources and also put a huge burden on exchequer.

Southern Africa has been struggling with an intense drought that has expanded and strengthened since the earliest stages of the 2015/16 agricultural season, driven by one of the strongest El Niño events of the last 50 years.

More than 200 million people living in dryland regions of Sub-Saharan Africa make their living from agriculture. Most are exposed to weather shocks, especially drought, that can decimate their incomes, destroy their assets, and plunge them into a poverty trap from which it is difficult to emerge.

Question raised in Rajya Sabha on Grant to Farmers for Damage to Crops, 05/08/2016. The State Government is primarily responsible for taking necessary relief measures in the wake of natural calamities. For undertaking relief measures, funds are available with the State Government in the form of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).