The record
Written from the 1 report below. Nothing here is unsourced.
- Kharif crop sowing in India is running about 6% behind last year, with farmers planting 65.8 million hectares as of July 17 against 70 million hectares a year ago, because of a delayed and uneven monsoon.
- Pulses, coarse cereals, oilseeds and cotton are the worst affected, with pulses sowing down 15.1%, while rice has nearly caught up at just 0.8% below last year.
- The seasonal rainfall deficit stood at 23% as of July 20, though the weather office expects an active monsoon phase over northwest and northeast India this week.
- Experts caution the recovery window is closing, and much of the shortfall in rain-fed crops may already be permanent if rainfall does not improve consistently.
What to watch next
- Whether the IMD-forecast monsoon revival over northwest and northeast India materialises this week and narrows the sowing gap
- Whether subdued rainfall over west-central and peninsular India — key regions for soybean, cotton and pulses — eases or persists
- Updated sowing data on pulses, coarse cereals and oilseeds to see if the shortfall worsens or stabilises
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Named India · Bihar · Haryana · Himachal Pradesh · Jammu and Kashmir · Punjab · Uttarakhand · Uttar Pradesh · India Meteorological Department · Jawaharlal Nehru University · Rural and Agrarian India Network · Sudhir Kumar Suthar
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