Late monsoon withdrawal delays rabi sowing

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

According to the department of agriculture, till Friday, wheat, the biggest foodgrain sown during the rabi season, had been planted in 4.96 million hectares, almost 21 per cent less than the same period last year. Pulses have been sown in 6.35 m ha, 19.8 per cent less than that in the corresponding period last year. Oilseeds have been planted in 4.68 m ha, down 8.4 per cent.

Overall, rabi crops had been sown in 19.58 m ha till Friday, down 13.9 per cent compared to last year. However, officials said this was unlikely to have any impact on the final yield, as sowing had just started and would pick up pace in the days to come.

In general, rabi crops are planted in a little over 60 m ha from October and the harvesting starts around February.

The comfortable water level in the 84 major reservoirs across the country should help boost the process in the coming weeks. The Central Water Commission says the catch in the major reservoirs was estimated at 108.1 billion cubic metres till Thursday, 70 per cent of the Full Reservoir Level and 91 per cent of last year’s storage at this time.

The delay in rabi sowing is mostly in Punjab and Haryana.

A PTI report quoted Agriculture Secretary Ashish Bahuguna as saying: “Wheat sowing has 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.” 

In 2012-13, India produced a record 93.9 million tonnes of wheat, 8.1 per cent more than the earlier year. The government has fixed a target of producing 86 mt of wheat this year.

The 2012 southwest monsoon gathered pace in most northern and western parts around June-September. For the country, it was slightly less than normal at 92 per cent of the long-period average (LPA). In north India, rains were 93 per cent of the LPA. The monsoon recovered in August and September, providing a boost to the kharif crop. However, the damage caused by low rain in the initial period pulled down foodgrain production by 9.8 per cent, it is estimated.