Kharif crop sowing area declines to 84.21 lakh hectare

 Despite the fact that national forecaster predicting above normal monsoon this year, the sowing data of kharif crops coming from different states are depressing as country has witnessed at 84.21 lakh hectare sowing compared to 93.63 lakh hectare same period last year.

 

The lower sowing trends coming from states may worry Central government as it has set the target of food grains production to the tune of 270.10 million tonnes for the year 2016-17.

According to latest report, rice has been sown/transplanted in 9.17 lakh hectare, which was 10.19 lakh ha last year, while pulses has been sown in 3.32 lakh hectare, which is again less than the previous year’s sowing figure of 4.53 lakh ha at same period last year. 

The sowing trends of other kharif crops are also dismal as coarse cereals has been sown in 6.01 lakh ha, which was sown in 7.19 lakh ha last year. The sowing area of oilseeds is 1.88 lakh ha, which is again lesser than the previous year as it was sown in 2.92 lakh ha. 

The sowing of sugarcane is also lesser that the previous year as the crop, which yields sugar, is sown in an area of 44.38 lakh hectare, which was 41.58 lakh ha in last year. The cotton, which is a source of livelihood for thousands of farmers in Maharashtra, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, etc, is sown in just 12.25 lakh ha, while the sowing of this crop was 19.66 lakh ha last year. 

The latest sowing data may put Centre’s kharif crop production target in the dock as when the sowing is lesser than the previous year then how the target would be met. While setting the production, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh had said that the country will have record production of food grains during 2016-17.

The minister had added that a good monsoon is expected in coming months and target of food grains production is set as 270.10 million tonnes for the year 2016-17. Singh had observed that this is an ambitious target for the food grains production.

“A target of 108.50 million tonnes rice production has been fixed for the year 2016-17. Whereas, it is 96.50 million tonnes for wheat crop. For all kinds of pulses, the target has been fixed 20.75 million tonnes whereas it is 35 million tonnes for oilseed. 

A target of 355 million tonnes production of sugarcane has been earmarked,” Singh had said after approving the production target. Singh had said that despite two consecutive droughts, production of food grains went up in comparison to last year. It is estimated at 252.23 million tonnes of food grains in 2015-16.