Kharif sowing lags last year’s coverage despite revival in rainfall

New Delhi: Kharif sowing has gathered momentum following the intensification of monsoon rains across large parts of the country, though acreage remains below last year's levels.

Farmers planted crops across 96.8 million hectares as of 7 August, 1.8 million hectares less than the 98.6 million hectares covered during the corresponding period a year ago, according to data from the agriculture ministry. The normal acreage, defined as the average for 2020–21 to 2024–25, stands at 110.4 million hectares.

Acreage under key kharif crops, including rice, pulses, coarse cereals, sugarcane, and cotton, remains below last year's levels, although the overall sowing gap has narrowed in recent weeks as monsoon rainfall improved across several regions. In contrast, oilseeds recorded an increase in sown area. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast widespread rainfall across key growing regions this week, further boosting kharif acreage.

As of 31 July, kharif sowing was 2.9% behind last year’s acreage. However, the gap narrowed to 1.87% by 7 August, indicating a gradual improvement in sowing activity. Farmers had planted crops across 89.4 million hectares as of 31 July, 2.65 million hectares less than the 92 million covered during the corresponding period a year ago, according to the agriculture ministry data.

Rice acreage stood at 34.4 million hectares, down 1.6 million hectares from 36 million hectares a year ago. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh lagged in rice acreage, while Telangana, Assam, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Punjab saw an increase.

Pulses were sown across 10.3 million hectares, down by 195,000 hectares. Among major pulses, arhar and moong lagged behind year-ago levels, falling by 261,000 hectares and 184,000 hectares, respectively. In contrast, urdbean saw an increase, rising by 257,000 hectares to reach a total of 2.3 million hectares. Sowing declined primarily in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Odisha, while Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Chattisgarh and Telangana recorded gains.

The sown area under Shri Anna (coarse cereals) fell to 16.8 million hectares from 17.3 million hectares a year earlier, mainly due to lower maize and bajra sowing. Sowing declined in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Gujarat and Telangana, but increased in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.

However, oilseeds sowing improved marginally to 18 million hectares from 17.5 million hectares last year, supported by higher coverage under groundnut, soybean, sunflower and sesamum. Higher acreage has been reported in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal saw a decline.

Cotton acreage also trailed last year's level, declining to 10.6 million hectares from 10.64 million hectares. Sugarcane sowing also decreased marginally by 31,000 hectares to touch 5.8 million hectares.

July turnaround and outlook

The kharif acreage gap shrank in recent weeks as the monsoon revived across key agricultural states. According to official data, India received 1% above-normal rainfall in July, a sharp turnaround after a 35% deficit in June. India received 283.3 mm rainfall during July against the long period average (LPA) of 280.5 mm, reducing the overall deficit during June-July to 12.6%. India is likely to receive less than 94% of the LPA rainfall in August-September, according to the India Meteorological Department. The August-September LPA, based on the 1971-2020 climatological record, is 422.8 mm.

The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall over the Western Himalayan region during the week, with widespread showers across parts of northwest and central India. Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Uttarakhand are likely to receive widespread rain during 11-16 August. East Rajasthan, West and East Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Chhattisgarh are also expected to see significant rainfall. The rainfall could improve soil moisture and support kharif sowing in the coming weeks.