For Udayveer Singh, a small farmer in Baghpat district of western Uttar Pradesh, it is going to be a slip between the cup and lip, as the latest spell of unseasonal rains over the past couple of days have dashed his hopes of a good wheat harvest.

Close to a third of the standing wheat crop that Singh had planted on about two acres has been destroyed by the rains accompanied by strong winds in the last two days.

So is the case of Rakesh Chauhan, a large farmer in Muzaffarnagar district. Chauhan, one of the thousands of sugarcane farmers who are reeling under the impact of delayed payments by the mills, was betting on wheat and mustard crop to boost his earnings this year. “Most of the wheat planted on 30 bighas has been flattened. Mustard, also, has been entirely destroyed,” says Chauhan.

Rains and hailstorms triggered by Western Disturbance has taken the country by surprise with a sizeable chunk geographical region spreading right from parts of Karnataka to the Northern States, fuelling concerns of a potential impact on the rabi harvest of crops such as wheat, mustard, chickpea, potato and coriander among others. The latest spell of countrywide rains could possibly aggravate the agrarian crisis as farmers, who bore the brunt of a low commodity prices during the kharif season, are now staring at a potential crop losses.

Admitting the impact of the rains, experts both in the Government and the private trade, refrained from hazarding any guess on the potential crop losses.

“We are seeking reports from various places on the impact. Only after we get the reports, we would be able to assess and quantify the crop losses,” said a senior official in the Agriculture Ministry. But the issue was raised by the elected representatives in the Parliament, who demanded assessment of the damage by a Central team and compensation for the farmers.

Wheat, the main rabi cereal crop, is in grain formation stages in North India, while the harvest has already commenced in parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat. “The standing crop has fallen flat in many places across northern states, where water logging has been reported. Water stagnation is seen more harmful now and should be drained immediately. Though part of the crop that has fallen flat could be recovered, the grain may suffer damage,” said Indu Sharma, Director of Karnal-based Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research. However, it is too early to quantify the crop loss, Sharma added.

Wheat has been planted on 303.23 lakh hectares (lh) this year, marginally lower than 304.73 lh in corresponding last year. The Government in its second advance estimates has projected wheat output of 95.76 million tonnes for the 2014-15 season, almost same as that of last year.

For mustard, especially the late sown areas, the rains are seen beneficial, said Vijay Data, Managing Director of the Alwar-based Vijay Solvex and past president of Solvent Extractors Association of India. Mustard harvest normally commences from early March.

“So far, no significant damages have been reported on chickpea. A clearer picture would emerge in 8-10 days time,” said Bimal Kothari, Vice-Chairman of the India Pulses and Grains Association. Chickpea, the main rabi pulses crop, is being harvested in Maharashtra. In Madhya Pradesh, the main producing State, the harvest would commence post Holi and in Rajasthan by end March.

“Though the rains have triggered some concerns in several pockets across North for wheat, mustard and pulses, there has been no significant impact as of now,” sources at a multinational trade house said.

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