Sowing area of pulses, oilseeds zooms as monsoon advances

Met officials say rains to be subdued over much of India for next 20 days

Sowing areas under pulses and oilseeds soared 80 per cent and about 430 per cent, respectively, more than last year’s as the southwest monsoon battered central and western parts of the country.

A statement from the Department of Agriculture showed that pulses have been planted on 1.10 million hectares of land till Friday, against 0.61 million hectares during the corresponding period last year. Oilseeds have been planted on 2.78 million hectares, against 0.52 million hectares planted in the year-ago period.

Relatively high price of pulses, compared to other crops, also helped boost sowing. Total kharif area till Friday was 16.56 million hectares, 23.43 per cent more than the corresponding period last year.

The showers, which made a delayed entry into the country has covered the entire nation as of June 26, around a fortnight ahead of its scheduled date.

Data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) showed that till Friday, the southwest monsoon was 27 per cent more than normal.

Rains in central India was 48 per cent more than normal till Friday, while it was 39 per cent more in the northwest parts of the country and 30 per cent more in Southern Peninsular India.

Pulses and oilseeds are primarily grown in rainfed areas such as Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat and a strong start to the monsoon has raised farmers’ hope.

Monsoon was normal or excess in 89 per cent of the total geographical area of India, while it was scanty or deficient in 11 per cent.

The rains not only boosted sowing, but also filled up the reservoirs. Central Water Commission data show that water level in 91 major reservoirs across the country was 43.26 billion cubic metres as on June 25, which was 111 per cent of last year’s level and 146 per cent of the average level in the past 10 years.

Till a few weeks ago, water in these reservoirs was around 100 per cent of last year’s level. Paddy, which is the main crop foodgrain during the kharif season, has been planted in 2.32 million hectares, marginally down from 2.5 million hectares sown during the same period last year.

However, senior officials from the Department of Agriculture said there was no concern over low acreage in paddy as sowing is yet to begin over large swathes of the land mass.

In total, paddy is sown in 38.83 million hectares of land during the kharif season.

Although the start has been good, there is a lot of area to be covered. The area in pulses so far is only 10.2 per cent of the normal area in which the crop is sown during the kharif season, while that in oilseeds is 15.29 per cent of the total area.

The performance of southwest monsoon in the months of July and August would determine the future pattern of sowing and the final output.

A recent report by Edelweiss shows that if rains do not remain normal, then groundnut production might be 11.24 per cent less than normal, while that of tur could drop 2.72 per cent and that of moong could fall 6.42 per cent.

Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in its latest forecast said southwest monsoon could remain subdued over the Indian landmass for the next 20 days except in the foothills of the Himalayas.

The IMD, too, in its weekly forecast said there could be considerable decrease in rainfall activity over northwest, central and parts of Peninsular India during the next 15 days, while near-normal rainfall activity is likely over parts of east and northeast India during the first 10 days of July.

If that happens, then the progress of kharif sowing could be hampered, hurting the final output, as July and August are the two months that get the highest rains during the four-month southwest monsoon season that ends in September.

The worst impact could be on paddy and cotton, officials said. In July, India gets 289 milli metres out of the total 887 milli metres of rainfall, while in August, the country receives 261 milli metres.

Meanwhile, agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said in a statement that the pulses and oilseeds area has risen in comparison to the previous year due to the concerted efforts of the Central government.