Farmers Movement Archive

Lull in monsoon may affect kharif crops, says IMD

The June-September monsoon, which is currently stalled as part of its natural stop-and-start cycles, is taking longer to revive, a delay that is “something to worry about”, said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, the chief of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).The top meteorologist said he expected the showers to be active again by the third week of this month.The monsoon is the lifeblood of Asia’s third-largest economy, as nearly 60% of the country’s net-sown area doesn’t have irrigation access and half of all Indians depend on a farm-based livelihood.“The delay (in the revival of the monsoon) is something to worry [about] because crops like paddy, which are at the transplantation stage, at this time need to be soaking in water,” said Mohapatra. He said the lull in monsoon activity stretched longer than expected.The rain-bearing system also replenishes more than 80 nationally important reservoirs, critical for drinking, power supply, and irrigation.The country is counting on farm output to cushion some of the economic impacts of a devastating second wave of coronavirus infections. In 2020-21, when India faced a recession due to the pandemic, agriculture was the only sector to record positive growth of about 3.1%. This helped to prop up the rural economy.“In the first week of July, monsoon will remain weak, it will pick up in the second week of July and return to normal by the third week of July,” Mohapatra said. The rains started on a promising note, arriving in Kerala, their first port of call in the Indian mainland, on June 3.According to agriculture ministry data reviewed by HT, the progress in kharif sowing till June 26 lags last year’s levels. On June 26, 2021, the total summer-sown area stood at 20.2 million hectares. This is 21% lower than last year’s 25.8 million hectare sown during the corresponding period. The sowing area is sure to pick pace soon, an agriculture ministry official said, requesting anonymity. From an agriculture point of view, July rainfall is the most critical, said Jeet Singh Sandhu, vice-chancellor of the SKN Agricultural University, Jaipur. “This is the prime time of sowing. Most Kharif crops have to be sown by July 15-20. We have another 15 days. So, at present, I don’t think there’s worry. But in areas where irrigation is not available, there will be an impact,” Sandhu added.The Met department has forecast a normal monsoon for the country as a whole for the third straight year, saying rainfall would be 98% of the 50-year average. According to the IMD’s classification, rains are considered normal if they are between 96% and 104%.The Met chief said the Madden-Julian Oscillation, a global weather pattern that influences India’s monsoon, had not been favourable for a while. He added there were strong westerlies, or winds blowing in from the west, and a decrease in low-pressure formations, factors that lengthened the monsoon pause.The agriculture ministry official said there was no reason for any concern at this stage. “Pre-monsoon showers were good, so moisture levels (in soil) are good. Rains will revive soon. There is nothing to worry about,” the official said.Farmers in the food bowl states of Punjab and Haryana have come under pressure due to a lack of rain. Electricity demand has soared, resulting in long outages, forcing farmers to depend on costlier diesel to irrigate lands. “The main impact so far has been that farmers’ cost of cultivation has gone up,” said Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Punjab’s agriculture commissioner.Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday ordered government officials to curtail office timings and curb supply to certain industries with high power consumption to save crops, an official statement said.Millions of farmers rely on the monsoon to plant crops such as rice, cane, corn, soybeans, cotton, nuts, and lentils.The dry spell has triggered a heatwave across much of north India, with Punjab facing a power crisis.Nearly 32 farm unions protesting three new farm laws have asked the Punjab government to ensure farms get at least eight hours of supply by July 5, said Balbir Singh Rajewal, a farm union leader.According to official data, power demand shot up to a new high on June 30, touching 191.24 gigawatts (GW), higher than the previous peak demand of 189.64 GW on January 31.

Hindustan Times

03-07-2021

India