Amid the nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic and flood situation in many States, India has reported an all-time record acreage of Kharif (summer sown).
As on Friday, the total Kharif crops sowing was reported at 1,095.38 lakh hectares against 1,030.32 lakh hectares during the corresponding period last year - an increase by over 6.32 per cent. This is despite the fact 5-6 lakh hectare crops have been reportedly damaged due to floods in 11 States. The previous record was achieved in 2016 when farmers had sown Kharif crops in a total area of 1,075.71 lakh hectare.
According to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, there was no impact of Covid-19 on progress of area coverage under kharif crops as on date. This is expected to increase further as the sowing of paddy and other crops are still going on. The final sowing figures for the current kharif season will be closed on October 2. Kharif sowing begins with the onset of southwest monsoon from June and harvesting from October onwards.
As per the Government data, agriculture growth in the first quarter of 2019-20 was 3.4 per cent at constant prices. However, the growth, driven largely by a bumper rabi harvest and facilitated by relaxation in lockdown, may not have resulted in a big rise in income for a section of farmers. India’s rabi production in the 2019-20 crop year (July to June) is estimated to be around 149.60 million tonnes, 4.10 per cent more than the previous year.
As per the data, total area sown to rice has increased by 8.27 per cent to 396.18 lakh hectare so far in the current kharif season from 365.92 lakh hectare in the year-ago.
There has been a substantial increase in planting of paddy in many States that received bountiful rains so far like Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. Among the other States that have planted paddy in more area are West Bengal, Odisha and Karnataka compared to same period last year. Surprisingly, the paddy area in Punjab has come down by 1.78 lakh hectares from the last kharif season.
Area under pulses has increased by 4.67 per cent to 136.79 lakh hectare as against 130.68 lakh hectare, while that of area sown to coarse cereals increased by 1.77 per cent to 179.36 lakh hectare area as against 176.25 lakh hectare in the year-ago.
Similarly, area under oilseeds increased sharply by 12 per cent to 194.75 lakh hectare so far in the current kharif season as against 174.00 lakh hectare in the year-ago. Among cash crops, sugarcane area rose 1.30 per cent to 52.38 lakh hectare from 51.71 lakh hectare, while that of cotton acreage rose 3.24 per cent to 128.95 lakh hectare from 124.90 lakh hectare in the period. There has been a 9 per cent increase in the overall rainfall in the country so far.