New Delhi. By June 24, the monsoon rain in the country is 4.0 percent more than the long -term average (LPA). This is a sign of a positive start of the rainy season. ICICI Bank has said this in one of its research. According to research, this slight increase in rainfall is expected to benefit kharif crop production in those states where there has been sufficient rainfall.
Research citing data from CEIC and IMD states that Rajasthan (135 percent more than LPA) and Gujarat (134 percent more than LPA) received the highest number of additional rainfall in major Kharif states. Other major kharif crop producing states such as Madhya Pradesh (28 percent more than LPA), Uttar Pradesh (19 percent), Tamil Nadu (15 percent), Karnataka (10 percent), Haryana (11 percent) and West Bengal (7 percent) have also recorded more than the seasonal average rainfall. Punjab has received equal rainfall to LPA.
According to the report, this broad and timely rains are expected to have positive effects on sowing and crop growth, which will improve overall agricultural production. However, it is not good in all areas, it is not. States are facing lack of rainfall such as Telangana (43 per cent less than LPA), Chhattisgarh (36 per cent less than LPA), Andhra Pradesh (34 per cent less than LPA) and Bihar (20 per cent less than LPA). If the deficiency continues, it may affect kharif sowing and crop yield in these areas.
The monsoon started on a weak note and was much better in the late June. Cumulative rainfall is now 104 percent of the long -term average (LPA), slightly lower than the India Meteorological Department (IMD) ‘forecast for June. However, the distribution of rainfall across the country remains uneven.
According to the report, even though the rainfall in some major kharif producing states is less than the LPA, so far kharif sowing is 10.4 percent (on an annual basis). Sowing of 13.8 million hectares has already been completed out of normal sowing of 109.7 million hectares. Last year, 12.5 million hectares were sown by this period. Sowing of major crops mainly like rice has seen an annual growth of 57.9 percent.
At the same time, there has been an increase of 42.4 percent in sowing of pulses, while sowing of coarse grains has seen an increase of 22.1 percent. However, there has been a decline of 2 percent and 2.8 percent respectively in oilseeds and jute and masta sowing. The monsoon activity is still going on. What will be the impact on agriculture across the country on the situation of rainy distribution in the coming weeks.
