Kharif Crop Sowing Deficit Decreases to 5.3%

As the country has had more rain during the previous week, Kharif sowing has picked up speed. As of Friday, the area planted with all crops was reported to be 278.72 lakh hectares (lh), down from 294.42 lh during the same time last year. As of June 24, there had been a 23.8% decrease in the Kharif sowing area.

Farmers planted crops on 138.2 lh over the past week (an increase of 25% from the same time last year), with larger acreage reported in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Rajasthan.

In comparison to last year, cotton coverage has increased by 3.8% to 64.08 lh as of Friday. Gujarat, which produces the most fibre, recorded an acreage of 10.86 lh compared to 11.46 lh in the same period last year, and Maharashtra, the second-largest producer, reported a covering of 23.65 lh (19.59 lh). In Haryana, there were 6.51 lh planted with cotton (6.75 lh). It was 5.57 lh (5.37 lh) in Rajasthan, 9.21 lh (10.07 lh) in Telangana, 2.48 lh (2.54 lh) in Punjab, 1.8 lh (3.34 lk) in Madhya Pradesh, and 2.89 lh (2.89 lh) in Karnataka (1.65 lh).

In Rajasthan, the area planted with moong has increased by 63.5 percent, from 3.81 lh to 6.23 lh, while in Karnataka, it has increased by 10.2 percent, from 2.75 lh to 3.03 lh. From 8.17 lh a year ago, the country's total moong acreage has grown by 31.8% to 10.76 lh.

Bajra's area has increased by 46.7% to 15.01 lh from 10.23 lh a year ago, while the soyabean area has only slightly increased to 30.52 lh from 30.29 lh. 

Paddy sowing, however, is still progressing slowly, with acreage recorded at 43.45 lh as of July 1 compared to 59.56 lh in the same period in 2021 and 74.59 lh in 2020. All other major paddy-growing States except Uttar Pradesh have reported lower acreage.

"Farmers in many parts were waiting for rains, and when they received monsoon rains in the last week, they immediately began sowing. This is a normal feature of rain-fed agriculture," said Agriculture Commissioner A K Singh. However, all stakeholders must be prepared for any future weather anomalies, he said, adding that such possibilities cannot be ruled out due to climate change.

On lower paddy acreage, Singh said that normal transplanting begins in the last week of June, even though the nursery is ready, as farmers wait for adequate rainfall. Because the monsoon has already reached most parts of the country and is expected to cover the entire country by July 15, paddy acreage in the northern region should be sown on time (by July 15) this year.

"Over the last three decades, there has been a decrease in the number of rainy days, but not in absolute rainfall," Singh explained. According to him, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed some paddy varieties that can withstand a dry phase for a few days due to a lack of rainfall or floods due to higher precipitation.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that the monsoon will cover the entire country a couple of days earlier than usual, owing to the fact that it has already reached the last outpost and the north-western-most desert State of Rajasthan on Thursday.

The June monsoon rainfall was 92% of the LPA of 165.3 mm, confirming the IMD's prediction of normal precipitation (92-108 percent of LPA). In June, 387 of the country's 703 districts were either deficient or largely deficient, compared to 369 until June 24.

According to the Agriculture Ministry's weekly sowing update released on Friday, higher Kharif sowed areas have been observed in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Assam among major agricultural States.

Tur was sown on 10.57 lh, compared to 12.22 lh the previous year, urad on 3.45 lh (3.79 lh), and other pulses on 3.28 lh (2 lh). The total acreage planted to pulses has increased by 7 percent at 28.06 lh from 26.23 lh.

Oilseed sowing has decreased by 9% to 46.34 lh from 50.36 lh, while coarse cereals have increased marginally to 37.07 lh from 36.32 lh. Jute and mesta acreage is down slightly to 6.8 lh from 6.82 lh, and sugarcane acreage is down to 52.92 lh from 53.41 lh. However, cane acreage in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka is slightly higher than in the previous year, while it is marginally lower in Maharashtra.

(Source: Business Line)