Early sowing raises hopes of record rabi harvest

In coarse cereals, crop has been sown in around 2.58 million hectares; almost 18.2% less than same period last year

Rabi sowing showed a significant rise during the week ended November 8, as intermittent rains continued to lash some parts of northern and central India.

Officials said if weather remains benign for the next two months and there is no unusual rise in temperature, then India will harvest one or two million tonnes more wheat than the previous record production of 94.88 million tonnes in 2011-12. They added that good southwest monsoon as well as sporadic rains in the central and western parts of the country is aiding this.

According to official data, coarse cereals were sown in around 2.58 million hectares till last Friday, 18.2 per cent less than the year-ago period.

“Coarse cereal is usually a low-priority crop. In 2012-13, acreage picked up early into the rabi season as southwest monsoon was not very good. But this year, it is the reverse,” said an official with the agriculture department. Maize, jowar and barley are the main coarse cereals planted during the rabi season.

Data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) showed that even after the withdrawal of southwest monsoon from most parts of India, rains have not lost intensity. Between October 1 and November 6, India received 49 per cent more than the normal rainfall, with central and eastern India getting the maximum rain.

As a result, sowing of wheat, the biggest foodgrain grown during the rabi season, has started at a brisk pace, mainly  in and around Madhya Pradesh. According to the official, wheat was planted on 1.51 million hectares across the country till last Friday, against 640,000 hectares sown during the same period last year. Most of the increase has been in Madhya Pradesh. In total, wheat is grown in 28 million hectares  across the country.  “Another reason for increased sowing is that farmers have got good price for wheat in 2012-13 when some private traders offered a premium of almost Rs 200 per quintal over the government fixed minimum support price to farmers,” said another official.

He added the government should continue both private traders and its own agencies to export Indian wheat or else domestic prices may show a sharp correction if output is much more than last year. In oilseeds, the government data showed that till last week, the crop was planted on 2.88 million hectares, 29 per cent more than the same period last year.