Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami lauded the Centre's decision to increase the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for all mandated Rabi crops for the 2024-25 marketing season and expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for it.
Southwest Monsoon hit India on June 8 with its onset over Kerala, a week after the normal date of June 1. Monsoon is crucial, especially for kharif crops dependent on rains.
The area sown with rice has reached 409.41 lakh hectares in 2023, compared to 398.58 lakh hectares in 2022, read the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare press release.
The Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare released the latest figures, showcasing the planting status of various crops for the current Kharif season, alongside comparisons to the previous year.
Crops that are sown during October and November and the produce harvested from January depending on maturity are Rabi. Crops sown during June-July and dependent on monsoon rains are harvested in October-November are kharif. Crops produced between Rabi and Kharif are Summer crops.
Farmers in India have sown kharif crops across 1022.51 lakh hectares so far this year, as against 1021.48 lakh hectares in the same period of last year, according to the latest data from the Agriculture Ministry.
Commodity-wise, paddy sowing is at 328.22 lakh hectares, as against 312.80 lakh hectares same period last year. Notably, India in July amended the rice export norms by putting non-basmati white rice, a major export item, in the "prohibited" category.
SBI Research, in its latest 'Ecowrap' report, noted that a continued vigil on the evolving inflation outlook is warranted given the erratic progress of monsoon and its impact on Kharif crop sowing, and subsequently on overall food inflation.
The statement further informed that in a remarkable move, over 3 crore registered cultivable plots of land have been identified for conducting the survey during the ongoing Kharif season in Uttar Pradesh.
The forecast of a normal monsoon despite the prevalence of El Nino, adequate availability of seeds and fertilisers and sufficient water in key reservoirs augur well for healthy kharif sowing in India, said the Department of Economic Affairs under Ministry of Finance in its monthly review rep