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Even as rainfall delivered by the southwest monsoon has fallen to 2 per cent below the normal of 251.8 mm between June 1 and July 10, latest Agriculture Ministry data released here on Friday showed Kharif season acreage having risen by 61.8 per cent to 445.11 lakh hectares (l ha) as against 275.10 l ha at the same time last year.
The spurt in area covered has been led by increased sowing in oilseeds, coarse cereals, cotton and pulses. Acreage of rice, the main Kharif crop, is 5.4 per cent lower at 89.59 l ha as compared to 94.73 l ha recorded at the same time last season.
“The fall in rice area is mainly on account of States like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab currently behind by 10 l ha. It’s not a drastic change, just an adjustment according to rainfall patterns,” a senior Government official told BusinessLine.
“Overall rice acreage may be lower by 1-2 l ha compared to last year, that’s not significant enough to worry about,” he added.
The timely onset of the monsoon in central India was responsible for the increased acreage of coarse cereals like jowar, bajra and ragi. Farmers have sown these crops over 81.80 l ha as against 38.36 l ha during the corresponding period in 2014-15, an increase of 113.2 per cent.
“These are rain-fed crops and the central region has received good rainfall, which encouraged farmers to plant more of these cereals,” the official said.
Oilseeds data misleading
Oilseeds like soyabean have been sown across 101.26 l ha while only 22.24 l ha had been covered at the same time last year. Experts, however, pointed out that the 355.3 per cent increase could be misleading.
“Last year, the monsoon was delayed in MP and other soyabean-growing areas by 20 days. This year, the onset was on time. As a result, comparing figures from last year – when farmers had to wait for rain – to now is not right,” said BV Mehta, Executive Director, Solvent Extractors’ Association of India.
Mehta suggested that speculation on output could only be made after July 31. For now, the dry spell in parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat through early July, and scattered rain across MP, were worrying factors.
“For the last 10 days there’s hardly been any rain in Maharashtra, in MP it’s not well distributed. It’s important that there’s rain now otherwise there is a chance of the crop failing. If we record even a 10 per cent increase in production this year, it would be satisfactory,” he said.
Data provided by the India Meteorology Department show central India having received 247.6 mm, 6 per cent below the normal, between June 1 and July 10.
East and northeast India and the southern peninsula had also received less than normal rainfall by 3 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively. Only the northwest region has matched the normal, having received precipitation at 14 per cent above normal.
Other crops
Pulses sowing recorded an increase of 43.6 per cent, from 22.71 l ha last year to 32.61 l ha as of Friday. Cotton acreage has also risen by nearly 95 per cent to 87.83 l ha from 45.10 l ha.
Area under sugarcane registered a slight increase of 0.8 per cent to 44.29 l ha compared to 43.29 l ha earlier, while sowing of jute and mesta slid by around 4 per cent to 7.74 l ha from 8.05 l ha at the same time last year.
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