Area of Kharif trails last year by 4.2 million hectares

New Delhi: Kharif sowing remained below last year’s level despite improved monsoon rains, with farmers planting the crop on 65.8 million hectares as of July 17, down 4.2 million hectares from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.

Last year, the total sown area as of July 17 was 70 million hectares. Sowing of key kharif crops, incl paddy, pulses, oilseeds and cotton remained well below last year’s levels.

Among major crops, paddy area fell by 141,000 hectares from last year, with farmers sowing the crop on 16.6 million hectares, down from 16.7 million hectares last year.

Oilseed acreage is also lagging, with 14.7 million hectares planted, down 863,000 hectares from last year. Soybean acreage lagged behind at 502,000 hectares, while groundnuts were down 317,000 hectares.

The area under Shri Anna (coarse cereals) was 11.9 million hectares, down 1.51 million hectares from last year, led by a lower crop of bajra and maize.

Pulses drop

The legume category also recorded a decrease in acreage. The total area of legumes was 6.9 million hectares, 1.2 million hectares less than last year. Sowing of arhar was lower by 536,000 hectares, of sorghum by 85,000 hectares and of pulses by 297,000 hectares, reflecting slow progress in rainfed areas.

In contrast, sugarcane emerged as one of the few crops to surpass last year’s acreage. Planting reached 5.7 million hectares, which is 86,000 hectares more than last year’s area. Cotton acreage was 9.2 million hectares, down 587,000 hectares from last year.

The overall sowing gap has narrowed in recent weeks as rainfall improved in several regions, although patchy rainfall continues to weigh on planting in parts of eastern and central India.

Agriculture experts said the sowing gap is expected to narrow if monsoon activity intensifies in the coming weeks. However, a prolonged lack of rainfall in heavily irrigated states could affect the area planted to oilseeds, pulses and coarse grains, raising concerns about crop production and food price inflation later in the year.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department (India is likely to see less than normal rainfall in July at less than 94% of the Long Term Average (LPA), according to the IMD’s monthly outlook. The forecast follows India’s driest June in over a decade and the fifth driest since records began in 1901, with southwest monsoon rainfall 39.8% below LPA. The country received 99.5 mm of rainfall during the month compared to the normal 165.3 mm.