The overall sown area for rice, which was lagging over 6% from last year’s level as of July 14, touched 180.2 lakh hectares by July 21, 2.7% higher than a year ago. File
| Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA
With aggregate rainfall in the country rising above the long-term average, Kharif crop sowing has picked up pace to lift overall levels 1.2% over last year by July 21, from a 2% deficit recorded a week earlier, spurring hopes of a relief in the pace of price rise of some food items.
Most significantly, the overall sown area for rice, which was lagging over 6% from last year’s level as of July 14, touched 180.2 lakh hectares by July 21, 2.7% higher than a year ago. The sown area for pulses increased over the same period, but remained nearly 10% below last year’s levels.
The sharpest decline among pulses’ sowing has been clocked in Arhar (-18.4%) and Urad (-9.7%). The other two major crops still in deficit from last year’s sown area levels is cotton (-0.3%) and Jute (8.1%). Bajra crop sowing has surged the most so far, with the sown area rising 11.3% so far, lifting coarse cereals’ sown area by 4.8%.
The southern peninsula and eastern regions are still facing deficient rains and the distribution of rainfall needs careful monitoring along with sowing of Kharif crops, said Bank of Baroda economist Jahnavi Prabhakar.
“Any shortage or excess might play a significant role on prospects of agriculture growth,” she noted in a report on monsoon and sowing that showed a third of India’s 36 sub-divisions have had excess rainfall in July, while eight divisions have had deficient rains.
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