NEW DELHI: The sowing areas for Kharif crops have significantly increased following an improvement in monsoon rainfall. The growth in sowing areas has been driven primarily by pulses, oilseeds, and paddy crops, while the areas for water-efficient crops like coarse grains have sharply declined.After a lull in June rainfall for a couple of weeks, the southwest monsoon system became established at the end of June, bringing good rainfall. By the end of June, India experienced a deficit of around -11% rainfall since the monsoon began on May 30. However, in the past week, the cumulative monsoon rainfall increased to a 1.8% surplus since June 1.This increased rainfall has led to a significant rise in the sowing areas of Kharif crops, which have increased by over 14% compared to last year. The overall Kharif crop sowing area reached 378.72 lakh hectares (LHa), up by 14.10% from 331.90 LHa a year ago.India’s paddy sowing areas have seen a 20% increase compared to last year, reaching around 60 LHa this year, up from 50 LHa last year. The improvement in monsoon rainfall has also resulted in a sharp increase in the sowing areas of pulses and oilseeds. The sowing areas for pulses and oilseeds have increased by over 50%, raising hopes for improved pulses production. The country has faced a shortfall in pulses production over the past two years, leading to increased domestic prices.The pulses sowing area has increased by 55%, reaching 36.81 LHa from 23.78 LHa a year ago. Similarly, the oilseeds sowing area has also increased by 55%, reaching 80.31 LHa from 51.97 LHa a year ago. This increase in oilseed sowing areas is expected to reduce dependence on the import of oil and oilseeds.In the non-food category, except for Jute & Mesta, all other crops such as cotton and sugarcane have seen increased sowing acreage. India’s cotton sowing areas have increased by over 29% compared to the previous year, reaching 62.34 LHa, while sugarcane sowing areas have increased by 2% from the previous year.Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast above-normal rainfall this year, in contrast to last year’s deficit monsoon by 6%, which negatively impacted the sowing of Kharif crops.
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