Despite normal rain, no cheer for farmers as profits still stressed: CRISIL

Higher MSPs have done little to lift crop profitability so far

Despite normal rainfall, farm profitability remained under stress this year, says ratings agency CRISIL.

The southwest monsoon, which begins in June and ends in September, closed this season 9 per cent short of the Long Period Average (LPA). This was termed “normal” by the India Meteorological Department. This is so for a third year in a row; the earlier such period was 2010 to 2013. During those earlier years of normal rain, average agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.7 per cent annually.

Growth in agriculture GDP this year will be lower than that, though well on trend, says CRISIL in a