Agriculture Minister estimates that surplus rain will have limited adverse effect on Kharif crops
16-Sep-2024 02:34 PM
New Delhi. Although there is a possibility of heavy damage to Kharif crops due to heavy rains, severe floods and waterlogging in fields in many parts of the country, the Union Agriculture Minister believes that only 1-2 percent of the total crop has been affected by this.
The sowing process of Kharif crops is almost over and the total production area has been slightly more than last year.
The area of paddy, pulses, oilseeds and coarse grains has increased but the area of cotton has decreased.
According to the Agriculture Minister, the remaining rain will not have much effect on the production of Kharif crops. But he admitted that Kharif crops have suffered heavy damage in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
According to the Agriculture Minister, sowing of various crops in the current Kharif season has been encouraging and the overall production of Kharif crops is expected to increase.
Industry-trade analysts say that the rain during the next two weeks can prove to be very important for the scenario of these crops.
Till last week, the total production area of Kharif crops reached 1092.30 lakh hectares, which is 2.15 percent more than last year and 99.7 percent of the normal average area of 1096 lakh hectares.
The area of paddy, oilseeds and coarse cereals has reached above the five-year average area. There is a need to keep a close watch on the rainfall at the end of September for the yield rate, quality and total yield of Kharif crops.
During the monsoon season, the country has received 8.3 percent more rainfall than the long-term average.
Out of more than 729 districts of the country, about 75 districts have received normal or more rainfall.
Southern Peninsula and Central India have received 23.4 percent and 18.9 percent more rainfall than the normal average respectively.
Due to this, the production area of paddy has increased to the top level of 409.50 lakh hectares, which is 8 lakh hectares more than the normal average area of 401.50 lakh hectares.
There is a possibility of special damage to pulses, oilseeds and cotton crops due to surplus monsoon rain.