Paddy Sowing Sees Marginal Decline, Rainfall In August Crucial: Report

Amid the ongoing monsoon, a report by the Bank of Baroda (BoB) has said that the sown area of paddy has seen a marginal decline. As the majority of sowing occurs during the July and August periods, rainfall distribution next month will also be critical.

The report added that rainfall is currently 2 per cent above the LPA till 29 July 2024. Pickup was noted towards the end of the month when 90.1mm of rainfall was received between 22-29 July, versus 69.5mm in the third week of July. Out of 36, 27 sub-divisions (75 per cent of the country) have received normal or above normal rainfall so far and 10 states are in the deficient zone, it added.

Region-wise, Southern peninsula (+24 per cent) and Central region (+17 per cent) have reported excess rainfall, while North West (-16 per cent) and East & North East (-18 per cent) regions have reported deficient rainfall. Supported by higher-than-normal rainfall, there is an improvement noted in the sown area, with a higher acreage of pulses, oilseeds, and coarse cereals compared with last year.

"As of 26 July 2024, overall sown area has improved by 2.3 per cent compared with last year," according to the report. The total sown area of pulses (14 per cent) has risen notably. Within pulses, a steep rise in acreage of Arhar (34.1 per cent) has led to an increase in the headline number.

Apart from this, acreage of Moongbean (12.4 per cent) was also up. In contrast, Kulthi, moth and Urdbean have recorded notable decline so far. Oilseeds have also registered a 3.8 per cent increase in sown area. Within this, the sown area of sunflower (30.4 per cent) and groundnut (13.7 per cent) jumped, while that of Sesamum declined.

Amongst other major sub-heads, the sown area of coarse cereals (5 per cent) and sugarcane (1.1 per cent) has come down. Within coarse cereals, sown areas of crops such as Jowar, Ragi, Maize and small millets inched up, while that of Bajra continues to decline.