Himachal heads for record kharif crop

Himachal Pradesh is set to produce a record kharif crop this year due to the good monsoon.

Farmers are reaping a good harvest after crop failure for three years in a row.

Sources in the state’s agriculture department said the state is expecting a record kharif crop of 937,000 tonnes (9.37 lakh).This includes 780,000 tonnes (7.80 lakh) of maize and 150,000 tonnes of paddy.

Due to poor monsoon last year the kharif production was only 655,000 tonnes. A dry winter also hit the rabi crop which was only 450,000 tonnes (4.5 lakh) far below the rabi target of 725,000 tonnes.

 

Over 80 per cent of the hill state’s farmland is dependant on rain fed water for irrigation.