As per official figures, the sowing of paddy, pulses and oilseeds declined by 8.63%, 23.32% and 21.01%, respectively, as of July 10, year-on-year. This raises concerns over food inflation, though Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed confidence that acreage under these key kharif crops would improve over the next few weeks and make up for the current shortfall.
Addressing the Foundation Day celebrations of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on Thursday, Chouhan urged the country’s premier agricultural research body to intensify efforts to improve productivity in pulses and oilseeds—sectors where India continues to rely heavily on imports.
Describing ICAR as the “trailblazer of India’s agricultural transformation”, Chouhan said the institution had developed 386 improved varieties across 44 crops during the past year. Of these, 94% are climate-resilient and 29 are biofortified.
“Farmers are the soul of agriculture, while scientists are its brain,” he said, stressing the need for demand-driven research, climate-resilient farming and self-reliance in pulses and oilseeds. He also noted that farmers with assured irrigation often shift to paddy and wheat cultivation, increasing the country’s dependence on imports in these categories.
Experts attribute the sharp decline in kharif sowing and the resulting food inflation to a combination of adverse weather, structural vulnerabilities and market behaviour. However, they say the biggest factor was the sharp rainfall deficit in June, which delayed sowing operations across large parts of the country.
The sluggish onset of the southwest monsoon deprived farmers of the early-season moisture needed to prepare fields and plant crops. Around 60% of India’s kharif acreage is rain-fed, making cultivation highly vulnerable to monsoon fluctuations. States such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, major producers of pulses and oilseeds, have been the worst affected.
The weak start to the monsoon also depleted water levels in major reservoirs, reducing irrigation support even in areas with irrigation infrastructure, they say. While many farmers postponed sowing in anticipation of improved rainfall, some also shifted from pulses and oilseeds to shorter-duration or more drought-tolerant crops to minimise financial losses.
The sharp fall in acreage also unsettled agricultural markets. Anticipating a smaller harvest, many traders held back stocks, resulting in higher retail prices.