As per IMD, 47% of the 716 districts from where the weather office gets its data recorded a ‘large deficiency’ of rainfall till June 22 while another 19% posted a ‘deficiency’.
While the onset of monsoon was delayed – reaching Kerala on June 8 against the normal date of June 1 – its advancement was affected by the Biparjoy cyclone that ripped through parts of Gujarat last week.
IMD scientists are hopeful that rainfall in the rest of the four-month monsoon season will make up for most of the deficiency, but the delay and uncertainty are major concerns for farmers.
“There is a high risk for paddy as it is a water-sensitive crop,” said Santosh Jhanwar, chief executive of Agriwatch, a farm research firm that works with about half a million farmers in the country. Farmers may switch to crops such as pulses, which require lesser amount of water for irrigation, he said.
Sowing of soybean, which is the other major kharif crop, too, is facing the problem of rain deficit in states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, the two major growing areas. “Sowing has been delayed by a fortnight as there is not ample rainfall,” said M Selvendran, agriculture director of Madhya Pradesh. “However, it is expected to rain in July and if that happens, then the crop size will not suffer,” he said. Cotton is another crop that is grown in Madhya Pradesh. Though the sowing is over for cotton, it will also require moderate rains in June-July for proper flowering. DN Pathak, executive director of Soybean Processors Association, said, “It is critical to rain within the next five days so that the sowing can be completed by July 10. Otherwise, the crop will be delayed.”Soybean is a 90-105-day crop.Farmers in West Bengal – the largest producer of paddy in the country – are also desperately waiting for rains. “If it does not rain adequately by July 5, then the sowing and transplantation of paddy saplings will suffer,” said Subroto Mondol, a paddy farmer from Burdwan district.
Paddy crop requires plenty of water during transplantation period of saplings from the nursery and during growth period. InBihar, too, sowing of paddy seedlings is affected by prolonged severe heatwave coupled with delayed monsoon rains. So far, only 31% of overall transplantation is done across nine divisions, officials of the state agriculture department said.