Even though, the southwest monsoon has covered most parts of the country, but its below par performance in June and patchy movement thereafter?many areas are still not getting their full quota of rains ?has prompted the government to take all necessary measures to deal with the possible fallout on farm production.
Minister of state for agriculture KV Thomas told lawmakers in Parliament on Tuesday that his ministry is keeping a regular watch on the progress of monsoon and its impact on agriculture. He also added that the agriculture ministry has instructed states to identify the pockets of distress and take remedial measures.
?The ministry has planned to increase allocations under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and give more flexibility to states to use these schemes to meet the contingent situations in the event of deficient rainfall, particularly for purchase and distribution of seeds, support for micro-irrigation projects,? Thomas said.
The late arrival of monsoon has already delayed sowing of main kharif crops like rice, groundnut and soybean in Maharashtra , Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, east Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and east Uttar Pradesh.
As per the latest data from the agriculture ministry, till July first week, rice sowing across the country is down by around 13.66 lakh hectare to 38.14 lakh hectare.
?As compared to last year, area under rice is down in Haryana by 1.15 lakh ha, Orissa by 2.44 lakh ha, Punjabby 7.02 lakh ha and less in Uttar Pradesh by 2.05 lakh ha,? the statement said.
On the sharp drop in rice acreage in Punjab , the ministry said poor electricity and delayed rain is causing delay in transplanting of rice. Among other main crops, till first week of July, coarse cereals have been sown in around 26.6 lakh hectare, down from 56.54 lakh hectare sown during the same period last year.
Cotton has been sown in around 18.83 lakh hectare, up from 17.41 lakh hectare sown during the same period last year, sugarcane has been sown in 42.21 lakh hectare till first week July, down from 43.54 lakh hectares sown during the same period last year.
Oilseeds, the mainstay of many farmers in central and western India, have been sown in around 35.58 lakh hectares, down almost 33.18 lakh hectares from last year. ?The area under soybean is down by almost 29.35 lakh hectares, while that of groundnut is down by around 12.2 lakh hectares till first week of July as compared to last year,? the statement said.
Although, most experts and agriculture ministry officials believe that good rains in July and August could wipe off much of losses in acreage and lead to good kharif production, but the specter of less rains is prompting them to take all precautionary measures.
