The area under kharif had topped the normal coverage of 1,085 lakh hectares (lh) to touch 1,092.92 lh as of Friday from June 1 when sowing operations began. However, it is lower from the record 1,101.87 lh registered during the same period a year ago.

A weekly update from the Ministry of Agriculture showed that the area under paddy, pulses and oilseeds trails, while the coverage of cotton, sugarcane and coarse cereals is higher. The kharif sowing situation now looks manageable with no sharp fall seen in any crop this year, barring paddy in Jharkhand, with the first estimate of kharif crops production around the corner.

With the India Meteorological Department predicting above-normal rainfall this month, the weather over the next fortnight holds the key to a good harvest, though it could be a notch lower from last year.

5 lh added last week

The deficit in the area under paddy has narrowed over the past few weeks, but it is still lower by 4.5 per cent at 399.03 lh against 417.93 lh a year ago. A little over 5 lh has been added in the past week. The decline was 12 per cent until August 12. The government had set a target of 413.13 lh for paddy acreage.

“The deficit in West Bengal is less than 4 lh whereas in Telangana it is high by nearly 5 lh. But sowing is still continuing in Telangana. The area in Jharkhand is 9 lh lower and in Madhya Pradesh, it is down by 6 lh. This has led to an overall deficit. Concerns over Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have eased since the deficit is about 3 lh,” said an official, adding the condition of the crop is normal in all the States.

This season, the government has fixed a foodgrain target of 163.15 million tonnes (mt), including 112 mt of rice. Last year, kharif foodgrain production was a record 154.93 mt, exceeding the 151.43 mt target on the back of a normal monsoon and fairly good distribution across the country.

Shift to soya, cotton

Due to a shift towards cotton and soyabean in many States, the total area under pulses has declined 4 per cent to 131.92 lh from 137.5 lh. The coverage of moong (green gram) is 33.26 lh (-4 per cent), urad 37.43 lh (-3.9 per cent) and arhar 45.73 lh (-4.6 per cent).

Oilseeds acreage declined 0.7 per cent at 190.91 lh from 192.23 lh a year ago. Soyabean coverage is 120.70 lh against 120.78 lh. Farmers in Madhya Pradesh have planted soyabean lower than last year, but the area in Maharashtra and Rajasthan is higher this year. Groundnut acreage continues to trail at 45.49 lh (49.08 lh), with its sowing is nearly over.

The area under cotton has increased by 7.5 per cent to 127.15 lh a year ago, of which Bt cotton has been covered on 118.56 lh area this year.

The area under coarse and nutri-cereals has increased by 4.2 per cent to 181.31 lh from 174.05 lh, mainly due to higher planting under bajra and maize. The bajra area has gone up by 10.4 per cent to 69.89 lh from 63.29 lh and that of maize by 2.1 per cent to 82.99 lh from 81.26 lh. Jowar acreage has declined by 4.6 per cent to 13.96 lh from 14.64 lh and ragi has dipped by 10.7 per cent to 8.56 lh from 9.59 lh.

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