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The Indian government is hopeful of a good harvest of rabi crops this season (July 2023- June 2024) and is in touch with States to reduce the deficit in sowing areas of some key crops, particularly wheat, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Arjun Munda has said.
Speaking to business line, the minister said: “We have been asking States to make sure that no sowing deficit happens in wheat and other rabi crops and farmers get all the requisite help in the planting operation. I am quite hopeful of a good rabi harvest this year.”
He said the Centre has been closely watching the situation in all the States, including Karnataka where water is not available for irrigation and Tamil Nadu which has been affected by Cyclone Michaung two weeks ago and a heavy downpour in southern districts this week.
Overall area down
Major winter crops-producing States have already informed that there is no concern about wheat acreage as during the ongoing season sowing in over 92 per cent of the normal area of 307.32 lakh hectares (lh) has been completed as of December 15. Latest data show that wheat acreage has reached 284.15 lh compared with 293.01 lh a year ago, which is lower by 3 per cent. Last year, the total area under wheat was 343.23 lh, marginally higher than 2021.
Area sown under all rabi crops during 2023 has reached 567.04 lh until December 15, which is nearly 90 per cent of the normal area. Though it is still down by 3 per cent from 587.33 lh during the corresponding period of last year, the gap has been narrowed as until December 1 the deficit was 5 per cent.
Rabi pulses acreage has reached 128.54 lh compared with 139.98 lh, down by 8 per cent as both lentil (masur) and gram (chana) acreage dropped. Higher sowing of mustard has helped the overall oilseed sowing look comfortable at 99.11 lh, up from 98.08 lh year-ago. In coarse cereals, the sowing area has reached 43.61 lh, up by less than 1 per cent from 43.37 lh.
El Nino impact
India is one of the countries where the agriculture sector has been impacted by the active El Nino weather pattern. According to the National Centres for Environmental Information, a unit of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, at least 26 per cent of the country is in the grips of drought until November-end.
El Nino resulted in the South-West monsoon being deficient with August proving to be one of the driest periods in 120 years. Due to the warm ocean weather phenomenon, rains during October and November were also affected.
According to India Meteorological Department, at least 44 per cent of the 713 districts from where data has been received are rain deficient. The weather pattern, due to climate change, has resulted in the water storage situation in 150 major reservoirs dropping below the last 10 years’ average.
At least 20 per cent of the storages have levels below 40 per cent of their capacity with 11 States having water below normal. This, it is feared, could affect irrigation for rabi crops, particularly in States such as Maharashtra and Karnataka.
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