Defying COVID crisis and nationwide lockdown, recent Kharif sowing reports has shown a boost and 13% higher compared to the last year. As per reports, the total area under Kharif crops till now is nearly 93 lakh hectares (lh) as compared to 82 lh in the same period in 2019-20, says recent Agriculture Ministry data.
With the early arrival of Southwest monsoon across many states, farmers in many parts of the country commenced Kharif cultivation early this year.
Even though these are early days, there is a substantial increase in the planting of groundnut in Rajasthan, pulses and coarse cereals in Karnataka and in sowing of early cotton variety in Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. Similarly, bajra sowing is off to a good start in Rajasthan and Haryana, even though other major bajra growing States Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra are yet to start planting, says Business Line research reports.
Rice and Sugarcane also Shows Higher Production
Rice and sugarcane planting too is marginally higher than compared to the last year.
Southwest Monsoon Brings Hope to Farmers
Arrival of early monsoon and pre-monsoon cyclones has brought in a lot of rains which ultimately helps the farmers in sowing and planting crops. Besides, water levels in reservoirs monitored by the Central Water Commission (CWC) remain much higher than that in the same period last year.
As per the reports of Central Warehousing Corporation, total live storage in 123 reservoirs was 53.64 billion cubic metres (BCM) as against 31.57 BCM in the same week last year. The current year’s storage is nearly 73 per cent more than that in the same period in 2019-20, say reports.
Similarly, the country as a whole received 32 per cent more pre-monsoon rains this year and aided by a low-pressure monsoon is advancing well making its onset early in different parts of the country, said met department in its weekly bulletin.
