Late monsoon withdrawal delays rabi sowing

Expected To Pick Up Pace As Reservoir Levels Comfortable, Moisture Adequate In Soil

Late withdrawal of southwest monsoon across most parts of the country, particularly over north India, has delayed sowing of main rabi crops like wheat, pulses and oilseeds as farmers are yet to harvest the previous crop.

According to the department of agriculture, till November 16, wheat, the biggest foodgrain sown during the rabi season has been planted in 4.96 million hectares, almost 21.4 per cent less than the same period last year.

Pulses have been sown in around 6.35 million hectares of land, almost 19.8 per cent less than corresponding period of last year, while oilseeds have been planted in 4.68 million hectares, down 8.42 per cent from last year.

Overall, rabi crops have been sown in around 19.58 million hectares of land till Friday, down 13.88 per cent compared to last year.

Officials said though sowing of main rabi crops has been delayed this year, it is unlikely to have any impact on the final yield as sowing has just started and will pick up pace in the days to come.

The comfortable water level in 84 major reservoirs across the country should also assist in pushing up acreage in the coming weeks.

According to the latest data from the Central Water Commission (CWC),water level in the major reservoirs was estimated to be around 108.1 billion cubic meters (BCM) till November 15, which was 70 per cent of Full Reservoir Level and 91 per cent of last year’s storage.

The delay in sowing of Rabi crops was mostly witnessed in Punjab and Haryana where the paddy crop has not yet been harvested in full because of delayed sowing.

A PTI report said that farm secretary Agriculture Secretary Ashish Bahuguna had expressed the hope that slow start in sowing of wheat, is unlikely to affect production this year.    

"Wheat sowing started on a slow note mainly because of delayed harvest of kharif crops especially paddy. Sowing of wheat would gather pace in the coming days and production will be sufficient this year," Bahuguna said. 

In 2012-13, India produced a record 93.90 million tonnes of wheat, almost 8.11 per cent more than last year. 

The government has fixed a target of producing 86 million tonnes of wheat this year. In general, rabi crops are planted in around 61.37 million hectares of land from October and the harvesting starts around February.

The 2012 southwest monsoon gathered pace in most parts of northern and western parts of the country only around second half of the June to September season.

Overall, for the country as a whole, the southwest monsoon was slightly less than normal at around 92 per cent of Long Period Average (LPA) during the four month period. In north India, which is critical for strong rabi harvest, rains were 93 per cent of LPA.

The monsoon recovered in August and September providing a boost to kharif, but the damage caused by low rains in initial period pulled down final foodgrains production by almost 9.8 per cent.