Despite monsoon deficit, Kharif acreage up 32% in June, driven by pulses & oilseeds

By Vishwa Mohan

The country has reported higher acreage of summer-sown Kharif crops in June compared to the corresponding period in 2023, despite a bigger deficit in monsoon rainfall for the month. The good show in sowing can be attributed to focus on sowing of less water-consuming crops such as pulses and oilseeds.
Though both the years – 2023 and 2024 – reported deficit rainfall in June, the deficit this year (11%) was bigger than the deficit (9%) last year. Nevertheless, acreage of Kharif crops as on June 28 this year was 59 lakh hectares (over 32%) more than the corresponding period of last year.
Agriculture ministry’s acreage data shows that the total sown area in the country as on June 28 was 240 lakh hectares compared to 181 lakh hectares during the same period last year.
The higher acreage is mainly due to an increase in sown area of oilseeds by 26 lakh hectares and of pulses by over 14 lakh hectares. On the other hand, the acreage of the most popular Kharif crop, paddy, remained flat at 22 lakh hectares as on June 28 compared to the same period last year.

“Since many areas did not receive rainfall in June, farmers preferred to opt for less water-consuming pulses (arhar) and oilseeds (soybean) over water-guzzling paddy. Such smart choices could see higher acreage this June compared to the same month last year,” said an official.
Besides pulses and oilseeds, sown areas of cotton also reported higher acreage. The sown area is expected to increase further in July as there is a forecast of ‘above normal’ rainfall for the month and the deficit has already reduced from 11% on June 30 to nearly 2% on July 5.

The government has also been focussing on oilseeds and pulses through various interventions including a signal to farmers by approving higher hike in minimum support price (MSP) of oilseeds and pulses compared to paddy.

This article has been republished from The Times of India.