Kharif crops: India
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Total area under kharif crops: 2013-15
The Times of India, Jul 20 2015
Vishwa Mohan & Amit Bhattacharya
Kharif crop reaps the benefit of good monsoon, sown area up 62%
The total area under kharif crops was 966.25 lakh hectares in 2014, a significan drop from the 998 lakh hec tares achieved in 2013. The poor sowing was mainly due o a weak monsoon, with rains ending 12% below normal, which eventually resulted in 5.25% less grain production during 2014-15 as ompared to 2013-14.
The sowing trend so far points to a better kharif crop in 2015, although the output would also depend on how ains perform in the rest of the season till September 2015.
Besides the good rains, the well dispersed kharif sowing an also be attributed to contin ency measures taken to insu ate the crop from the vagaries f monsoon. These measures nclude seed subsidy and con tant sharing of scientific inputs based on amount as well as patial distribution of rainfall.
2015: Sown area goes up
The Times of India, Sep 05 2015
Vishwa Mohan
Sown area of Kharif goes up in 2015
Overall monsoon rainfall deficit this year is higher than the corresponding period last year, but the sown area under kharif (summer) crops has reported an improvement with some of the crops -including pulses and sugarcane -even exceeding their normal sown area. Latest data, released by the agriculture ministry on Friday, showed that the area under kharif crop touched 998.67 lakh hectares as compared to 979.40 lakh hectares this time last year.
Though overall production will depend on other factors including distribution of rainfall till the end of this month and timely availability of other inputs like fertilizer, the area under kharif crop appears to be encouraging as it has already covered nearly 95% of the normal sowing area of 1,050 lakh hectares.
It is expected that the overall sown area may increase further as nearly three weeks of sowing operation is still left.
Exceeding of sown area of pulses (108.37 lakh hectares) than its normal sown area of 108 lakh hectares is a good sign. It is also in tune with the Centre's call to increase the area under pulses as the country has to depend on import to meet its domestic demand.
The Centre had, in fact, increased the minimum support price for pulses before he beginning of this year's sowing operation so that armers may find it attractive over paddy or coarse cereals.
The overall performance of kharif sowing operation as compared to last year (when he country had reported 12% deficit of monsoon rainfall) can, however, also be attributed to the contingency measures, like diesel subsidy scheme and others, taken by he Centre keeping in mind he prediction of `below normal' rainfall by IMD in June.
2017; 2018: Below normal monsoon, but farmers may not be hit
Below normal monsoon, but farmers may not be hit, August 3, 2018: The Times of India
From: Below normal monsoon, but farmers may not be hit, August 3, 2018: The Times of India
Monsoon in 2018 is likely to end up ‘below normal’ but a fairly good rainfall distribution may still favour a good kharif crop, as per the India Meteorological Department’s update on Friday that has forecast 95% rains in August and September as compared to the long period average (LPA).
The national weather forecaster said the “scenario of favourable distribution of rainfall is expected to continue” for the rest of the monsoon season which will “remain favourable for agricultural operations”. On the back of good rains in the past week in the paddy-growing areas of UP and Bihar, the total sown area under kharif on Friday exceeded the normal for the corresponding week by 1.4%.
IMD said August is likely to get rains at 96% of LPA, two percentage points more than what the agency had forecast earlier. The forecast has a 9% margin of error. This implies that IMD expects 93% rainfall in September, and 95% for the entire season, which would put this year’s monsoon in below-normal range (90%-96%).
“You may infer it (below-normal monsoon for the season), but it is difficult to say anything at this juncture. With the +/-8% model error for the two-month forecast, it may swing to either side. We cannot go beyond what we had predicted earlier for the season (97% of the LPA) at this juncture,” Mrutyunjaya Mohapatra, additional director general of IMD, told TOI.
The monsoon is in a weak phase at the moment but east and northeastern states are likely to get “normal to above normal” till August 8, IMD’s forecast said. In the following (till August 15), “above normal” rainfall is predicted for east, northwest and extreme south Peninsula during 9-15 August period.
Aug-Sept, 2018: Rains boost Kharif-sown area
Rains boost Kharif-sown area, September 11, 2018: The Times of India
From: Rains boost Kharif-sown area, September 11, 2018: The Times of India
In what could be a good signal to farm sector and overall economy, total sown area under kharif (summer) crops crossed the last year’s corresponding period figures for the first time during the ongoing sowing operation last week - thanks to the pace it set after receiving better rainfall in deficit areas of eastern and northeastern India in the past two weeks.
Quantitatively, the country continues to be in ‘below normal’ rainfall category reporting a total deficit of 7% as far as cumulative rainfall (June 1-September 10 period) is concerned. August was the third consecutive month of rainfall deficiency, but improved acreage can be attributed to better distribution of rainfall.
Latest sowing data, released by the agriculture ministry, shows that the increase in sown area as compared to 2017 is mainly marked by higher acreage of paddy (rice) and oilseeds. Though the acreage of pulses and coarse cereals continue to be less than the last year’s corresponding sown area figures, officials believe that the acreage of these crops too will improve as farmers still have two to three weeks of sowing operation this season.
Figures show that the total sown area under kharif crops stand at 1,041.65 lakh hectares (LH) as of last Friday as compared to 1,039.57 LH during the same period last year. “It’s a good sign as sowing remained subdued in first two months of this season due to poor rains in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and most of the north-eastern states - mainly the paddy growing area,” said an official who has been tracking the development.
Since adequate acreage is crucial for good production of foodgrains, the higher sown area is seen as a positive development. “It’s important as we are looking at new record of foodgrain production in 2018-19 crop year (July-June) after reporting two consecutive years of record production in 2016-17 and 2017-18. High production boosts rural demand and this, in turn, drives overall economy,” said the official. Though the country as a whole reported 7% deficit in cumulative rainfall, the gap in central and north-west India narrowed during the period. The highest deficiency (24% deficit) was recorded in eastern and northeastern India. The south peninsula, on the other hand, received 2% more rains than the normal, while central India and northwest India recorded deficit of 3% and 2%, respectively.
In fact, the distribution of rainfall saw most of the country’s major reservoirs receive adequate water during the period. It’ll help sowing of irrigation-backed winter crops (rabi) during November-February period, making it a good crop year in terms of overall production.
2018: Kharif production could set new record
September 27, 2018: The Times of India
The government’s first advance estimates, released for kharif crops put the figure of summer-sown foodgrains production at a new record level of 141.59 million tonnes, which is higher by 0.86 million tonnes as compared to last year’s production.
The first estimate will, however, undergo revision based on feedbacks from the states as many of them did not get well distributed rainfall during the monsoon season. It may result in change in the production figures during the subsequent estimates.
“Total production of Kharif rice is estimated at 99.24 million tonnes. This is higher by 1.74 million tonnes than the last year’s production of 97.50 million tonnes. Further, it is higher by 6.64 million tonnes over the average production of kharif rice during the last five years,” said the ministry while releasing the figures of the first advance estimates.
2019
Paddy down 12%, cotton up 23%: Skymet
Amit Bhattacharya, Dec 3, 2019 The Times of India
From: Amit Bhattacharya, Dec 3, 2019 The Times of India
Paddy production during this year’s kharif season could drop by 12% over last year while cotton output is likely to get a 23% boost, private forecasting agency Skymet said in an analysis of the recently-concluded agriculture season, which saw a nearexcess monsoon and widespread floods but also good rainfall over many areas.
The output of pulses and soybean too is likely to fall by 4.5% and 12%, respectively, according to the outlook released on Monday. Earlier estimates have forecast a drop this year too, breaking the rising trend of the past three years.
Paddy production could be down to 90.04 million tonnes from last year’s 102.13 million tonnes. This is nearly 10% below government estimates.
2020: record crop acreage sown
Vishwa Mohan, August 29, 2020: The Times of India
In what should spell good news for the rural economy, India has reported an all-time record acreage of kharif (summer sown) crops this year despite the Covid-19 pandemic and flood situation in many states. The development indicates that the farm sector, which remained largely free of lockdown curbs, may continue to register growth despite a shrinking GDP.
Barring damage due to inclement weather, several crops will benefit from good monsoon rainfall and the government’s procurement policies. During lockdown, FCI had launched a massive operation to complete procurement and make payments to farmers.
Kharif acreage up by 7% since last year
As on Friday, the total kharif acreage was reported at 1,082 lakh hectares against 1,010 lakh hectares during the corresponding period last year – an increase by over 7%. Sown areas of mainly paddy, oilseeds and pulses contributed to this increase.
India had reported its previous record for kharif crop sown area in 2016 when the acreage was 1,075 lakh hectares. The country’s average sown area in the past five years has been 1,066 lakh hectares. The higher acreage can be attributed to a good monsoon rainfall and proactive measures, taken by farmers and governments during the lockdown period, to beat the impact of Covid-19 on agriculture.
“Exemptions given to the farm sector during the lockdown period helped farmers continue with their operations – first harvesting Rabi crops and then sowing kharif crops – almost uninterrupted,” said agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
Noting that there is little impact of the pandemic on the farm sector, Tomar said the kharif acreage would increase further as sowing of paddy was still continuing in a few states. “We are confident that the 2020-21 crop year would report an all-time record output of food grains and cross our target of 298 million tonnes,” he said. The sown area under paddy has so far recorded an increase of over 35 lakh hectares as compared to last year.
Oilseed sowing at record high
From: Vishwa Mohan & Pradeep Thakur, Oilseeds push kharif sowing to record high, September 5, 2020: The Times of India
Acreage of paddy could take total kharif (summer crops) sown area to an all-time record level, but it’s the coverage of oilseeds which reported highest percentage increase this year — an encouraging sign for India which has to spend over Rs 70,000 crore annually on edible oil import to meet demand.
Nearly 12% increase in acreage of oilseeds this season, can be attributed to a good hike in their minimum support price (MSP) and better procurement of last season’s produce during initial months of lockdown.
All five summer sown oilseeds — niger (hike of Rs 755 per quintal), sesamum (hike of Rs 370 per quintal), sunflower (hike of Rs 235 per quintal), groundnut (hike of Rs 185 per quintal) and soybean (hike Rs 170 per quintal) — had seen higher increase in their respective MSP than paddy (hike of Rs 53 per quintal).
12 states reported higher acreage of oilseeds this season: Govt
The agriculture ministry had announced MSP of kharif crops at the beginning of the sowing season in June. Though nearly 20 lakh hectares of crop area is estimated to be affected by floods this year in 14 states, the total acreage continues to be more than the sown area of last year even after deducting the flood-affected crop areas from its tally.
The states which shared the exact figures of their respective flood-affected crop area with the Centre till last week include Karnataka (3.5lakh hectares), Assam (2.6 LH), Odisha (2.5 LH), UP (1 LH), Andhra Pradesh (19,907 hectares) and Chhattisgarh (2,146 hectares). Details of other flood-affected states such as Bihar, West Bengal and Kerala are still awaited.
Hikes in MSPs of Niger and Sesamum were highest among all 17 crops whose support price was announced in June — a clear signal to farmers to go for sowing of such oilseeds which have potential to reduce India’s import bills in sync with the country’s ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ goal.
Sown area figures of all kharif crops, released by the agriculture ministry on Friday, show that 12 states reported higher acreage of oilseeds this season compared to corresponding period last year with farmers in Gujarat, MP, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka taking the lead.
See also
Kharif crops: India
