Kharif sowing activities – Land is more for Sugarcane, Cotton and Coarse
Data from the Agriculture Ministry showed that the area for sugarcane, cotton, and coarse cereals was higher as of Friday compared to paddy, pulses, and oilseeds in the sowing activities of Kharif crops.
Encouragement for farmers to plant more sugarcane comes from the sugar mills clearing the dues for the supply of the cane on time. So far, sugarcane has been planted on 4.7 Million Hectares against 4.6 Million Hectares last year. Cotton growers have drawn solace from prices ruling well above the minimum support prices in the last two seasons. At least 12.5 lh of the acreage in cotton has almost been made up by Haryana, Rajasthan, and Punjab.
This year in the month of May, rainfall aided Kharif sowing activities a step ahead. As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the rainfall was 10% higher than the long-period average based on 1971-2020 data. IMD said the rainfall of 67.3 mm was the 3rd highest since 1901 with the other two being 95 mm in 1987 and 68.2 mm in 2021.
Arhar and Urad are gaining privilege – Though pulses are down
Arhar (Pigeon Pea) and Urad (Black Gram Split) are at higher prices compared to Moong and other pulses. It seems farmers are more interested in sowing Arhar & Urad as they seem to be gaining prevailing in terms of higher prices. Though, pulses are down this year. The sowing area is 87k Hectares against 91k Hectares a year ago. Karnataka has grown 63k hectares with Uttar Pradesh another 14k Hectares.
The highest paddy sown area reported from Nagaland, then after comes Assan & West Bengal. While key states of paddy, like Punjab, Haryana, and Telangana have not started their activities yet. The area of paddy being sown is 0.217 Million Hectares against 0.296 Million Hectares during the same period a year ago.
Sesame and sunflower are far behind
Sesame and sunflower are lagging behind this year. Oilseeds acreage trailed at 53k Hectares against 56k Hectares a year ago with sesame being the main drag, only 8k Hectares over 13k Hectares. On the other hand coverage of soybean and groundnut looks like gaining.
In oilseed sowing activities, Karnataka and Nagaland have taken the lead with 26k Hectares and 19k Hectares respectively. In other key growing States such as Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan are expected to begin the coverage once the monsoon sets in.
Due to excess rainfall storage is less by 6% compared to the previous year
The IMD has said that the monsoon will be delayed this year in south – west. There are chances that it could set in after June 4. Presently, the monsoon is over Sri Lanka and troubled the Lakshadweep. North-West India, the key to Kharif crops production received 94% excess rainfall in May, while Central India, another key region, received 64% more rains.
As a result of the excess rainfall, the total live storage in the 146 major reservoirs is 178.185 Billion Cubic Metres (BCM) or 69.11% of the total capacity of 257.812 BCM. The storage is 6% points lower than the same time a year ago but 21% points higher than the last 10 years’ average.