The Hindu Business Line : Step-up in kharif sowing augurs hope on inflation

New Delhi, June 27 Amidst the depressing inflation numbers, there is a silver lining. A combination of timely monsoon rains and remunerative prices has prompted farmers to plant more area under kharif crops, which could go some way in dousing inflationary expectations.

According to the Agriculture Ministry’s latest Crop Weather Watch report, released here on Friday, the coverage under most crops – from rice, maize, bajra and jowar to oilseeds and pulses – is so far higher than the last year’s corresponding levels. The only major crops to have witnessed a decline are cotton, sugarcane and jute.

Less cotton acreage

In cotton, sowing is complete in North-West India, with all the three main States reporting lower acreage – Punjab (from 6.04 to 5.6 lakh hectares), Haryana (4.83 to 4.15 lakh hectares) and Rajasthan (3.50 to 1.36 lakh hectares).

In Punjab, more area has come under rice (from 8.11 to 10.48 lakh hectares), while farmers in Rajasthan has significantly expanded planting of bajra (from 0.07 to 8.84 lakh hectares), maize (from 0.07 to 2.20 lakh hectares) and jowar (0.02 to 1.60 lakh hectares). Rajasthan has also witnessed higher area under groundnut (from 0.21 to 1.47 lakh hectares) and soybean (from 0.22 to 0.63 lakh hectares).

All this has obviously been promoted by the early arrival of the monsoon showers. The potential threat of the mealy bug pest has led to less area coming under cotton in the three North-West States. Farmers have instead opted to plant more paddy and coarse cereals, which also promise better returns owing to higher prices and lower costs incurred on irrigation.

Drop in cane area

In sugarcane, there has been an almost 14 per cent drop in area, with Uttar Pradesh (from 21.2 to 17.4 lakh hectares), Maharashtra (8.10 to seven lakh hectares), Karnataka (2.19 to 1.63 lakh hectares), Gujarat (2.14 to 2.08 lakh hectares), Andhra Pradesh (1.78 to 1.29 lakh hectares) and Haryana (1.4 to 1.25 lakh hectares) reporting lower coverage. With sugar mills running up huge payment arrears, growers have chosen to divert cane area to other crops. In oilseeds, the area under groundnut has registered a sharp increase from 5.06 to 9.04 lakh hectares, mainly on account of Gujarat (1.91 to 5.30 lakh hectares). Other oilseeds, including soyabean, have recorded lower coverage so far, though the situation is likely to change in the coming weeks.

South-West showers

The good news as of now has been the performance of the South-West monsoon. During the season (June-September) as on June 25, the country as a whole has received a cumulative area-weighted rainfall of 154 millimetres (mm), 26 per cent more than the long period average (LPA) of 122.3 mm for this period.

Moreover, as many as 23 meteorological sub-divisions have reported above-LPA levels of precipitation. The real problem areas as of now seem to be Andhra Pradesh (all the three sub-divisions, namely Telangana, Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra), Maharashtra (only Marathwada and Madhya Maharashtra) and northern Karnataka.

The India Meteorological Department has forecast increase in rainfall activity along the west coast and over the Indo-Gangetic Plains and adjoining Central India in the coming week.

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