India’s Kharif Crop Sowing Increases by 1.91%
Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Highlights Government’s Commitment
India’s Kharif crop sowing is progressing well, with farmers planting crops across 1,087.33 lakh hectares so far, marking a 1.91% increase compared to the same period last year. This data was released by the Agriculture Ministry on Monday.
Commodity-wise, the sowing of paddy, pulses, oilseeds, millets, and sugarcane has increased year-on-year. However, the sowing of cotton and jute/mesta has decreased. In the pulses category, uradbean, arhar, moong, kulthi, and moth bean have shown positive growth.
Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan stated that the central government is committed to 100% procurement of urad, arhar, and masur in all states. He urged for increased awareness to encourage more farmers to cultivate pulses. India, a large consumer and grower of pulses, also imports to meet its needs, primarily consuming chana, masur, urad, kabuli chana, and tur pulses.
India has three cropping seasons: Summer, Kharif, and Rabi. Kharif crops are sown during June-July and harvested in October-November, relying heavily on monsoon rains. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and private forecaster Skymet predict above-normal rainfall for the current monsoon season, which is crucial for Kharif crops.
IMD recently stated that the rainfall averaged over the country during September 2024 is likely to be above normal, exceeding 109% of the Long Period Average.
Doubts Revealed
Kharif Crop -: Kharif crops are the crops that are sown at the beginning of the rainy season, usually in June, and harvested in the autumn. Examples include rice, maize, and pulses.
1.91% -: 1.91% is a way to show a small increase. It means that the amount of Kharif crops planted this year is 1.91% more than what was planted last year.
Hectares -: A hectare is a unit of area used to measure land. One hectare is about the size of a football field.
Agriculture Minister -: The Agriculture Minister is a government official responsible for farming and crop production in the country. In this case, it’s Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Procurement -: Procurement means buying or obtaining something. Here, it means the government is committed to buying all the pulses that farmers produce.
Pulses -: Pulses are a type of crop that includes beans, lentils, and peas. They are an important source of protein in the diet.
Monsoon rains -: Monsoon rains are heavy seasonal rains that occur in India from June to September. These rains are very important for growing Kharif crops.
Above-normal rainfall -: Above-normal rainfall means that more rain is expected than usual. This is good for crops because they need water to grow.
