The area sown under kharif crops was down by 27 per cent at 234.33 lakh hectares amid deficient monsoon rainfall last month, according to the latest government data.

However, sowing operations are expected to pick-up in the coming days as the Indian Metereological Department (IMD) has projected good rains in July and August. Besides, the government has announced a significant hike in the minimum support price of 14 notified kharif crops.

Sowing of kharif crops begins with the onset of the South-West monsoon, which this year arrived late, delaying sowing operations and rainfall remained deficient by 33 per cent, according to IMD data.

According to the latest sowing data released by the Agriculture Ministry, the area under kharif cultivation was only 234.33 lakh hectares till the last week of the kharif season of the 2019-20 crop year (July-June), as against last year’s 319.68 lakh hectares.

Rice, the main kharif crop, was sown in 52.47 lakh hectares till last week, down from 68.60 lakh hectares in the year-ago period.

Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh, among others, reported a drop in are under rice cultivation.

Pulses, especially tur, urad and moong, were sown in just 7.94 lakh hectares as against 27.91 lakh hectares, while coarse cereals were planted in 37.37 lakh hectares as against 50.65 lakh hectares last year, the data showed.

The area under pulses was lower in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, among others.

In the case of oilseeds, the area under groundnut, sunflower and soyabean was lower at 34.02 lakh hectares till last week, as against 59.37 lakh hectares in the year-ago period.

Among cash crops, sugarcane has been sown in about 50 lakh hectares so far, close to 51.41 lakh hectare covered in the year-ago period.

Sowing of cotton and jute has also been lagging behind. The area under cotton crop was lower at 45.85 lakh hectares, compared with 54.60 lakh hectares in the year-ago period.

Jute was sown in only 80 lakh hectares as against 7.15 lakh hectares in the same period, the data showed.

Last week, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had said there was no cause for concern about the monsoon as the IMD has pegged normal rainfall. However, the government is keeping a close watch on the deficient rainfall situation.

During the week ending July 10, IMD has projected normal rainfall over most parts of East Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, north-east Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Sikkim, the northeastern states and normal to above normal over south Peninsular India.

It is very likely to be normal to below normal over the remaining parts of the country during the week, it said.

Whereas during the week ending July 17, the IMD said, there would be normal rainfall over some parts of Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, most parts of East Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and along the west coast and many parts of northeastern states. It is very likely to be normal to below normal over the remaining parts of the country during this week.

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