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The southwest monsoon’s sharp revival over the country’s central, western and northern regions — rainfall during July 17 to 23 was 24 per cent above normal — has improved the water levels in reservoirs and rejuvenated sowing of kharif crops.
Data from the department of agriculture shows till Friday kharif crops were sown on 53.31 million hectares, 27 per cent less than the same period last year. And, 25 per cent less than what is normal, calculated as the average over the past five years.
The big turnaround has been in the area under cotton, groundnut and soybean. All these are primarily grown in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, where the monsoon has been rather vigorous in the past 10 days.
In central India, rainfall during July 17-23 was 81 per cent above normal. In the northwest, it was six per cent above. The overall monsoon deficit (June 1-July 25) in these areas remains a concern but officials believe the improvement in weekly numbers will go a long way in helping kharif sowing and also during the next, rabi, season. The overall nationwide monsoon deficit stood at 24 per cent as of July 25, precariously close to the 2009 deficit of 22 per cent. In 2009, India suffered its last big drought.
“Yes, there is still a big question mark on the final output of foodgrain, pulses, oilseeds and cotton, as sowing was delayed by almost 45 days. The good news is that the situation is somewhat better than earlier,” said a senior agriculture ministry official.
The water levels in 84 major reservoirs across the country also showed a marked improvement and are now at 35 per cent of their full capacity. In the first week of July, the levels had dipped to almost 24 per cent.
The metereological office predicts the intensity developed by the monsoon will continue in the coming week as well (July 25 to 31). “It is likely to continue in an active phase, especially over many parts of east and central India. Rainfall is likely to increase considerably over the plains of northwest India and adjoining foothills of the Himalayas,” said its weekly forecast.
The June to September monsoon rains entered India this year after a delay of about four days. Its progress was stalled thereafter, leading to fear of drought in several parts. However, since the second week of July, the revival in rain has erased much of those worries
