Excess rains dampen India’s kharif paddy sowing

For the first time this season, the area under paddy has dipped from the level seen a year ago as excess rains and floods have affected sowing operations. However, the coverage is likely to recover in the coming weeks. While there is no concern about any other crop barring cotton, the Government has been closely monitoring the sowing progress to ensure there is another year of bumper production if everything goes normal over the next two months.

“We are hopeful of a good harvest as there is no concern from any State. Only Jharkhand had some issue with lower rainfall. But rains have started and paddy farmers have shifted to maize where rains were deficient,” said a senior official of Agriculture Ministry.

Against the country’s normal area of 1,095.84 lakh hectares (lh) in the kharif season, planting has been completed in 74 per cent or in 811.87 lh as of July 26, which is up by 2.3 per cent from 793.63 lh a year ago, latest data of the Agriculture Ministry showed.

Down a tad

The acreage under paddy, the key cereal crop, reached at 215.97 lh which is 0.27 per cent less than 216.39 lh a year ago. The paddy area was 7 per cent higher until July 19. The sowing of paddy in the leading producing State, West Bengal, continues until September due to its climatic conditions. In other States, it gets almost completed by mid-August. The normal area under paddy in the kharif season is estimated at 401.55 lh.

The sowing area under arhar has reached 38.53 lh, which is 34.1 per cent more than 28.73 lh a year ago, thanks to the open market price signal that farmers have picked up to expand the area under the crop. The areas under moong has gone up by 12.4 per cent to 30.37 lh from 27.01 lh. But, the urad area has dipped by 3.1 per cent to 23.12 lh from 23.86 lh. Overall, sowing of all pulses has reached 102.03 lh, which is 14.1 per cent higher than 89.41 lh a year ago.

The area under maize has been higher this year and has now reached 78.80 lh, up by 13.6 per cent from 69.36 lh. Thanks to a recovery in bajra sowing, the overall acreage of nutri cereals (Shree Anna) has shown an increase of 5 per cent to 153.10 lh from 145.76 lh.

Cotton down 7%

The area under bajra (pearl millet) has reached 56.46 lh against 60.60 lh a year ago while jowar stands at 12.10 lh from 10.58 lh. Ragi area is also a tad higher at 2.63 lh from 2.48 lh and that of small millets has gone up 13.2 per cent to 3.10 lh from 2.74 lh.

The sowing area under cotton has tumbled 6.9 per cent to reach 105.73 lh until July 26 against 113.54 lh a year ago. It was 3 per cent higher until July 12. The sugarcane acreage is almost complete and now at 57.68 lh from 57.05 lh a year ago.

The coverage of soyabean is nearing its normal area of 123 lh as it has reached 121.73 lh, which is 4 per cent more than 116.99 lh a year ago. The acreage of all oilseeds is now 3.8 per cent more at 171.67 lh from 165.37 lh a year ago. The area under groundnut has further gained momentum by recording 13.7 per cent growth at 41.03 lh from 36.08 lh.