Data shows rainfall likely to spell trouble for India’s kharif area

The area under kharif improved further in the week ending August 23 as sowing of most crops was almost completed. Data showed that kharif crops had been sown in around 106.5 million hectares till August 23 – almost 2 per cent more than the area covered in the same period last year, but 2.81 per cent less than the normal area (which is the average of the last five years). The good news is that the areas under arhar, peanut, soybean and cotton are higher than their five-year average. However, all eyes will be on the weather in the coming weeks as excess rainfall in September could flood fields and lead to lodging, which would be bad for final yields. Till August 27, the southwest monsoon was 7 per cent above normal, with central and southern India recording rains that were over 17 per cent excess so far in the season. With La Nina now in place, the rains could intensify further.