Area under kharif crops surpasses last year by 39% as monsoon progresses

In the first 19 days of the four-month monsoon season that started in June, out of 683 districts in the country, rainfall has been normal in almost 74% of them

Sowing of kharif crops gathered pace during the week ended Friday, as monsoon reached fresh parts of the country with the total acreage under different crops almost 39 per cent more than the same period last year.

According to data from the department of agriculture, until Friday kharif crops have been sown in around 13.13 million hectares of land, which is 39 per cent more than the same period last year.

The southwest monsoon during the same period was 114.7 millimeters, which is 30 per cent more than normal.