Rice, cane lift acreage of kharif sowing past 2022 level
Crisil Market Intelligence and Analytics.“Farmers this kharif are expected to witness a decline in yields across key crops like paddy, cotton, maize and pulses. Considering the sowing and yield situation and market conditions, we expect paddy prices to remain elevated on-year, whereas pulse prices are expected to rise significantly on a high base due to anticipated lower output on year," Sharma said. The sowing of coarse cereals went up 2.3% year-on-year to 18.6 mh.
Maize cultivation rose 2.6% to 8.4 mh, while bajra and ragi increased slightly to 7 mh and 1 mh, respectively. However, sowing of jowar dropped 1.4% to 1.4 mh. Similarly, cotton crop plantation shrank 4.2% to 12.3 mh.
In the case of sugarcane, sowing went up 4.2% to nearly 6 mh. Though rainfall countrywide improved in the past week from August, the driest monsoon month in 122 years, it still lags 6% at 780.3 mm till 22 September since 1 June. The June-September monsoon season drives a big chunk of India’s $3 trillion economy, bringing nearly 75% of the country’s annual rains, crucial for agriculture and for replenishing reservoirs and aquifers and meeting power demand.
Over half of India’s arable land is rain-fed, and agriculture is among the biggest employment generators. Good rain over the past fortnight has improved levels in major reservoirs, now at 19% below the previous year’s levels and 8% lower than the 10-year average. As of Thursday, the gap has reduced by 4% from the past week.
In the week ended Wednesday, India recorded a precipitation of 54.2 mm, 44% above the long-period average. Higher water levels are critical for the agriculture sector, with farmers relying significantly on reservoirs for irrigation. Data from the Central Water Commission
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