With monsoon showing no appreciable signs of improvement, paddy showing in the country continued to lag last year?s level. According to the latest government data, paddy (de-husked) rice has been sown in around 228.19 lakh hectares till August 6, almost 57.75 lakh hectares less than last year, with Jharkhand and Bihar suffering the maximum damage to their paddy acreage because of low monsoon.
So much so, that Bihar today joined the growing list of states that declared itself as drought affected.
The state declared 28 out of its 36 districts as ?calamity-affected? as poor monsoon rains badly hurt sowing of paddy, jowar and maize.
Paddy sowing was almost 48% less in Bihar till August 6, while it was around 64% less in Jharkhand during the same period. Sowing of paddy in Uttar Pradesh was down by around 43% till August 6, while it was less by around 32% in West Bengal, the country?s largest rice producer.
However, overall, sowing of other coarse grains like jowar, bajra and maize was improved as more farmers scampered to plant these low moisture requiring crops.
Government data showed that till August 06, coarse cereals have been planted in around 166.01 lakh hectares, up from 157.30 lakh hectares sown during the same period last year. The biggest gain has been in maize acreage.
Pulses sowing also went up to 78.91 lakh hectares during the week ending August 6, almost 9.17 lakh hectares more than last year, with arhar leading the pack with acreage of around 28.19 lakh hectares.
However, oilseeds sowing dipped in most parts of the country during the week ending August 6, mainly because of fall in area under groundnut.
As per the government data, groundnut crops have been planted in around 35.72 lakh hectares till August 6, down from around 45.54 lakh hectares sown during the same period last year, largely due to poor rains over Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Soybean has been sown in around 93.68 lakh hectares, up from 91.31 lakh hectares as late showers over central India aided sowing.
Cotton, the mainstay of millions of farmers in Vidharbha and Marathwada regions of the country was planted in around in around 92.92 lakh hectares till August 6, up from 79.47 lakh hectares sown during the same period last year.