Kharif production is likely to be lower by about 10 million tonnes owing to deficient and poorly distributed southwest monsoon. The worst hit will be soyabean, cotton and groundnut harvest in key growing States such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, a senior scientist of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute said on Wednesday.
However, rice output will be unaffected as rainfall has been better in northeast India, and North India has good irrigation facilities. Farmers in Punjab and Haryana have sown in about 50 per cent area a newly developed short-duration rice variety, Pusa Basmati 1509 with higher yield than the traditional Pusa Basmati 1121.
Monsoon is lower by 41 per cent with 53 per cent departure from normal in north-west India and 55 per cent lower in central India.
Scientists admitted that for over a decade there has not been much emphasis on development of improved crop varieties in rain-fed areas which is why a monsoon deficiency situation lands dry land farmers in trouble.
“Our focus areas have been irrigated areas and the Gangetic belt. Poverty-stricken non-irrigated areas with low productivity have hitherto been neglected,” a top official said.
If it rains in the next one week as the Met office has predicted, then normal sowing can still commence, said H.S. Gupta, Director, Indian Agricultural Research Institute.
