'Early monsoon beneficial for kharif crops'

The early and heavy monsoon rains in India have raised the hopes of a record plantation and sowing of kharif crops, a farmers' body representative said Tuesday.

Sudhir Panwar, president of Kisan Jagriti Manch, a farmers' body, told IANS that the moisture coming from early rains is crucial for the sowing of coarse grains, oil seeds, pulses, cotton and nursery plantation of rice.

The early monsoon rains this year will help in early sowing of kharif crops - sown in the rainy season - and consequently give more time for the crops to mature and result in increased production, Panwar said.

Last year, various regions of the country had missed the early phase of monsoon and it affected the production of various crops, in particular rice.

The rain-fed regions which include more than half of the farm land in the country will benefit from the early rains, he said.

He said in an election year, it is nature's gift to the UPA government as it will contain food inflation.

The food inflation was a major issue during UPA II as the 2008-09 drought had caused food prices to shoot up.

The early rains will also help save input costs for agriculture on diesel and electricity, he added.