The Hindu Business Line : Kharif acreage up despite dry spell across North

Even as the dry spell over North and North-West India has intensified, area under most kharif crops is higher compared to last year and also the average for the past five years.

Major driver

The Union Agriculture Ministry’s latest Crop Weather Watch Report, released here on Friday, shows the farmers have brought in more area under rice (paddy), coarse cereals (mainly maize and bajra), pulses, oilseeds (especially soyabean and groundnut), cotton and sugarcane.

Major driver

Remunerative prices for most crops have been a major driver behind increased acreages this time.

Whether all would translate into higher production is, however, contingent on the soil moisture conditions. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the current South-West monsoon season (June-September) till September 5 has seen the country receive an area-weighted rainfall of 769.9 millimetres (mm), which is per cent more than the ‘normal’ long period average of 752.2 mm for this period.

Deficit

However, this overall positive situation is tempered by a not-so-favourable spatial distribution.

Much of North and North-West India, stretching from Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh have had deficit or less than adequate precipitation.

The fortunate bit though is that large parts of these areas are well-irrigated. Moreover, the heavy showers in the hills and upper reaches have ensured that there is enough water in the canals and reservoirs.

Recovery can help

As a result, there is no significant moisture stress being reported by farmers in the region.

A recovery in monsoon activity would, nevertheless, be welcome at this stage and help bolster the soil moisture regime.

A build-up of sub-soil moisture would also be useful for the ensuing rabi planting of wheat, mustard and gram.

The IMD has predicted “scattered to fairly widespread rainfall activity over North-West India” in the coming week.

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