A pause in the progress of southwest monsoon and the delay in the announcement of this year’s Minimum Support Price (MSP), despite promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Union budget, have slowed sowing of the 23 Kharif season crops.
The progress of the monsoon showers started to weaken from June 15, despite a two-day early onset. As a result, sowing of Kharif crops witnessed a large drop in this year's planting season.
According to the sowing data released by the Union ministry of agriculture and farmers' welfare, the area sown under kharif crops this year dipped by almost 9.7 per cent and stood at 115.90 lakh hectare.
Last year, around the same time, farmers had sown 128.35 lakh hectare in kharif crops, the data showed. The area sown under paddy, the chief Kharif crop, had witnessed a drop of about 4.5 per cent this year.
In pulses, India had become self-sufficient last year. But this year, lentils plantings in the country so far is just about three-quarter of last year (5.91 lakh hectare vs 7.82 lakh hectare).
Planting of oilseeds this year has seen a significant drop of about 5 lakh hectare this year from 9.93 lakh hectare last year. Import of edible oils in large quantity had made a dent on India's exchequer in previous years.
Last year, production of edible oil in the country improved following a record area planted under the food crop. This year, however, it is a very different scenario.
"Farmers who had planted soya crops in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Harayana, all burnt their hands after prices crashed in local mandis last year," said Ashok Dhawale, president of the CPI-backed All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), which led the farmer's march into Mumbai, held earlier this year.
“So, they are just being more careful this year and awaiting the announcement of government’s MSP for kharif crop as well," said Dhawale. However, hopes of a better crop this year are not completely trundled yet.
“There was a pause in the progress, but monsoon coverage had now revived and progressed well over north and central India,” said D.S. Pai, scientist and long-range forecaster at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune.
According to the national weather agency (IMD), a revival of monsoon over parts of central India (Odisha, south Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and adjoining area) along with parts of south peninsula are likely later this week.
However, rainfall over northwest India and the northern part of central India are expected to remain subdued this week and in the next. Rain showers are more likely to witness a stringer revival over the southern peninsula and adjoining parts of central India, the IMD forecast said.
“This kind of deviation in kharif season plantings are noticed on certain years. They were more noticeable two years back when monsoon was below normal in the country. This year’s kharif sowing trend is not an aberration,” said S.K. Malhotra, Union agriculture commissioner.
Echoing similar views, S.K. Pattanayak, Union agriculture secretary said that planting of kharif crops in the country would also gather steam with the progress of monsoon. “We will have a record paddy output if monsoons are normal as per forecast,” Pattanayak observed.
Asked when the improved federally-announced Minimum Support Price (MSP) would be announced for the kharif cropping season, he said, “There are a few things being worked out before the announcement in finalised by the CACP (Commissioner of Agricultural Costs and Prices) and sent to the government.”
The government is reportedly taking extra precaution to ensure that the fine-balance between stoking food price inflation and providing farmers remunerative prices for their produce.