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🇮🇳 India /Economy & Trade

Acreage Gap Narrows as Kharif Sowing Picks Up

From Hindustan Times · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • India's Kharif crop sowing has modestly improved due to a stronger monsoon, narrowing the weekly acreage deficit.
  • Despite the improvement, overall acreage for major Kharif crops remains below last year's levels, with significant declines in oilseeds and pulses.
  • Experts anticipate further acceleration in planting as rainfall is forecast across key growing regions, though timing and distribution are crucial.

Sowing for India's Kharif season has shown modest progress over the past week, boosted by a more robust monsoon in several parts of the country. This pickup has helped narrow the weekly acreage deficit to 20.8% as of July 5, a slight improvement from the previous week's 22.7%.

Despite this recent acceleration, the total area covered by major Kharif crops, including rice, pulses, coarse cereals, oilseeds, and cotton, still lags behind last year's figures. Oilseed planting has seen the steepest decline, down 40%, with soybean, a major crop, particularly affected. Pulses also registered a significant 22% decrease.

Economist Ramesh Chand pointed out that crops with better irrigation, like rice, experienced smaller declines compared to largely rain-fed crops such as soybean and pulses. "About three-fourths of the area under rice is irrigated, compared with barely 9% for soybean. The acreage numbers reflect this difference," he noted.

About three-fourths of the area under rice is irrigated, compared with barely 9% for soybean. The acreage numbers reflect this difference.

— Ramesh Chand, EconomistChand explains how irrigation coverage influences the impact of rainfall deficits on different crops.

While the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts rainfall to reach 94% of the long-period average (LPA) for July, experts emphasize that the timing and spatial distribution of this rain are more critical than the monthly total. "For several crops, what is needed is a round of rain which can bring moisture to the soil pre-sowing, and then some intermittent rain," said former agriculture secretary Devesh Chaturvedi. He added that even rain-deficient districts could benefit, with potential for recovery in sowing.

Cotton acreage also decreased by 23%, though sugarcane cultivation saw a slight increase of 1.5%. This year's June was notably dry, ranking as the fifth-driest in over a century for India. However, the monsoon has shown signs of recovery in July, reducing the overall rainfall deficit.

For several crops, what is needed is a round of rain which can bring moisture to the soil pre-sowing, and then some intermittent rain.

— Devesh Chaturvedi, Former Agriculture SecretaryChaturvedi highlights the importance of timely and well-distributed rainfall for successful crop sowing.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hindustan Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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