Kharif sowing gap narrows to 1.6% but key crops lag | Today’s news
The kharif the planting season is closing the gap on last year’s pace, although key crops remain under pressure. Farmers planted 108.63 million hectares as of Sept. 4, just 1.6% less than the same period last year, according to data from the agriculture ministry. This is almost in line with the department’s normal standard of 110.45 million hectares.
The headline number masks sharper declines in rice, corn, soybeans and cotton, which together form the backbone of India’s food and fiber supply. Rice acreage at 42.18 million hectares is 3.7% lower than last year, raising concerns about government procurement and food security programmes, including the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, which feeds 80 million people.
Pulses provided some relief as acreage rose 1.6% to 11.71 million hectares, led by gains in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Telangana. Coarse grains and oilseeds are down slightly, while cotton and sugarcane are also lagging behind last year’s levels.
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An uneven monsoon remains a risk. Rainfall is 13% below normal in the regions and is patchy, leaving crops at critical stages of growth vulnerable. Analysts warn that while the overall difference in acreage is small, crop-specific outages could weigh on stocks of food grains, edible oil and cotton in the coming months.
Karnataka, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Maharashtra led the decline in rice area. Assam and Odisha reported higher acreage, according to a ministry statement.
“A total difference of 1.6%. kharif acreage in itself is not alarming, but the 3.7% decline in paddy acreage warrants more attention because of its implications for grain availability and food supply. Increasing acreage under pulses provides some comfort, but the final performance will depend on rainfall during the remaining crop cycle,” said Binod Anand, agricultural economist and member of the Union government’s high-powered committee on Minimum Support Price (MSP).
An uneven monsoon can hit yields
For pulses, the increase was led by Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, which more than offset declines in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Odisha.
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The area under Shri Anna and coarse grains stood at 18.14 million hectares, a slight decline from 18.25 million hectares a year earlier. The decline was mainly due to lower acreage in Karnataka and Maharashtra, as well as reductions in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
The area of oilseeds fell slightly to 19.20 million hectares from last year’s 19.31 million hectares. Lower soybean and groundnut acreage offset gains in crops such as sesame and sunflower.
Cotton acreage was also marginally lower at 10.92 million hectares compared to 10.99 million hectares a year earlier. Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab reported a decline, while Telangana and Gujarat recorded higher acreage.
Sugarcane acreage at 5.85 million hectares was marginally below the 5.89 million hectares recorded a year ago, while jute and city acreage rose to 634,000 hectares from 624,000 hectares.
The narrowing crop gap comes despite a sub-normal monsoon season so far. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), there was 13% less rainfall than usual between June 1 and September 4.
The distribution of rainfall was also uneven between regions. The IMD has predicted subdued rainfall over Peninsular India in the coming week, while rainfall is expected over a few parts of central and eastern India.
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Patchy rainfall could remain important for crops now in critical stages of growth. Rice, soybeans, corn and cotton saw lower acreage than last year, so the distribution of rainfall over the remainder of the monsoon season is important for crop conditions and potential yields.
