The Hindu Business Line : Sowing in key rabi crops continues to lag behind

Cause for concern
174.82 lakh hectares have been brought under wheat against 213.74 lh during the same period last year.
Area sown under all rabi oilseeds is lower at 74.97 lh against last year’s figure of 85.11 lh.

Harish Damodaran

New Delhi, Dec. 7 Sowing of wheat, rabi oilseeds, pulses and coarse cereals continues to lag behind this year, courtesy dry weather in large parts of northern and central India.

According to the Agriculture Ministry’s latest Crop Weather Watch Report, farmers had, as on December 7, planted 174.82 lakh hectares (lh) under wheat, against 213.74 lh during the same period last year. The normal total area under wheat is 261.97 lh, while touching a record 279.84 lh last year.

Lack of rains

Progressive acreages this time have declined in Uttar Pradesh (55.55 lh versus 66.06 lh), Madhya Pradesh (24.25 versus 39.93), Rajasthan (13.40 versus 15.69), Gujarat (5.62 versus 8.18), Maharashtra (6.13 versus 10.48), Bihar (5.92 versus 8.34) and Karnataka (2.02 versus 2.32).

The virtual absence of any rains since August has affected sowing in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where wheat is largely rainfed. In fact, in MP, sowing operations were completed by this time last year and any further coverage this year seems unlikely.

With nearly 16 lh less area coming under the crop this year, corporates such as ITC, Cargill and AWB India, who sourced the bulk of their wheat last year from the State, will now have to buy more from Punjab or Haryana (the big branded atta makers prefer MP wheat for its superior gluten content and kernel harness).

Late crushing

In UP, the drop has been ascribed to the belated crushing by sugar mills. Sugarcane occupies about 25 lh in UP, of which roughly 15 lh is accounted for by the ratoon crop that is harvested and crushed during November-January.

While mills normally crush from early November, this time they started from around November 25. That has restricted the scope for farmers to vacate their cane area for planting wheat in time. The area impacted on this count is reckoned at 7-8 lh, i.e. half the ratoon cane.

On the brighter side, wheat acreage has gone up in Punjab (32.20 versus 31.91), while being just marginally lower in Haryana (22.60 versus 22.75). Since Punjab and Haryana are high-yielding areas and protected through perennial irrigation networks, the Centre can draw some comfort from the reasonably good coverage in these States. There is also hope of more area coming under late sown wheat in eastern UP and Bihar, which could partially offset the declines in MP, Rajasthan and western UP.

Dipping coverage

But this optimism may not hold for rapeseed-mustard – the most important rabi oilseed. Progressive area reported is lower this time, at 55.93 lh, against last year’s corresponding 63.44 lh. Acreage has fallen in Rajasthan (23.36 against 28.61), UP (7.53 against 7.65), Haryana (5.50 against 5.97), Gujarat (3.19 against 3.56), West Bengal (4 against 4.35 lh), while rising in MP (6.70 against 6.57).

The total area sown so far under all rabi oilseeds is lower this year at 74.97 lh, over last year’s cumulative figure of 85.11 lh.

Besides rapeseed-mustard, acreages have declined for sunflower (from 9.32 to 7.84), groundnut (3.43 to 3.28), safflower (3.24 to 2.75) and linseed (4.25 to 3.83).

In gram (chana), there has been a marginal fall in coverage from 65.86 lh to 65.79 lh. This has been more so in MP (from 25.07 to 21.01), UP (6.46 to 5.68) and Karnataka (7.16 to 6.61).

But these have been made up by higher plantings in Rajasthan (from 9.90 to 11.91), Maharashtra (7.78 to 9.09) and Andhra Pradesh (5.56 to 5.92).

Pulses scenario

The overall rabi pulses area, too, has dipped from 106.96 lh to 102.45 lh, with these being 12.79 to 11.91 for lentil (masur), 6.59 to 5.43 for peas (matar), 5.66 to 4.46 for kulthi (horsegram) and 2.53 to 2.09 for moong.

However, extra area has come under urad (from 4.35 to 4.39) and lathyrus (3.97 to 4.14).

The total area under rabi coarse cereals so far this year, at 57.13 lh, is below the 60.83 lh of the corresponding period of 2006.

Coverage has fallen in jowar (43.99 versus 46.26), maize (6.15 versus 6.65) and barley (5.40 versus 6.09).

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