Pawar warns of dip in rice output

The adverse impact of a deficient monsoon over kharif crop appears to be growing with the sowing of paddy lagging behind by over 65 lakh hectares as compared to the last year.

The adverse impact of a deficient monsoon over kharif crop appears to be growing with the sowing of paddy lagging behind by over 65 lakh hectares as compared to the last year. This has forced Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to acknowledge the prospects of a shortfall in rice output this crop season as against record rice production last season.

According to statistics compiled by the Agriculture Ministry,paddy sowing was down by over 25 per cent from about 257 lakh hectares last year to only about 191 lakh hectares as on July 30.

The deficient rainfall in UP,Bihar and West Bengal have resulted in about 50 per cent decrease in paddy sowing in these states. Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are other major rice-producing states that continue to suffer from less than normal rainfall resulting in poor sowing of paddy.

Story continues below this ad

Firstly,area (under paddy) is less. Secondly,we are expecting less productivity because of this gap (in monsoon arrival). I expect some shortfall in rice production, Pawar told reporters on the sidelines of a function in the Capital on Friday.

He said inadequate rainfall in Punjab,Haryana,Uttar Pradesh,Bihar and Chhattisgarh was adversely impacting the paddy crop.

Pawar also said that the Cabinet on Thursday approved Rs 1,000 crore for diesel subsidy to paddy farmers to encourage them to undertake irrigation for the crop during the current erratic monsoon.

‘Grave insult to wounded people’: Cong lashes out at PM Modi amid his first Manipur visit

India13 hr ago

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Manipur for the first time since ethnic violence hit the state in May 2023, the Congress on Saturday called it a “farce, tokenism, and a grave insult to a wounded people”.

View all shorts

Live Blog