Chouhan asks officials to ensure timely availability of seeds, fertilizers for kharif season

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has directed officials to ensure adequate availability of fertilizers and seeds to farmers for the ensuing kharif season, as planting will begin with the arrival of monsoon. He was apprised by the officials on the progress of on-going sowing activities of the summer crops.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above normal monsoon this year, which may be 5 per cent more than the long period average of 87 cm. The weather bureau is likely to issue its second stage forecast on last week of May.

At the weekly review meeting on Monday, Chouhan inquired from senior officials about the status of crop harvesting, sowing of summer crops, procurement, availability of fertilizers, manure and seeds, weather and position of water reservoirs for irrigation.

He asked officials to make such arrangements that not only the farmers benefit but the crops are also purchased in full.

Rice coverage up

In the current summer sowing season (which is grown after rabi harvest and before kharif sowing), the area under paddy has increased to 31.67 lakh hectares (lh) as of April 25 against 27.64 lh a year ago, while nutri/coarse cereals areas reached 12.37 lh against 10.62 lh a year ago.

Among the nutri/coarse cereals, maize area is up at 7.50 lh from 5.90 lh, while jowar was flat at 0.45 lh and bajra a tad up at 4.22 lh from 4.10 lh.

The sowing under summer crops, which will end by May, has reached 73.08 lh as on April 25 against 63.34 lh reported in the year-ago period.

Area under summer pulses reached 19.80 lh from 16.24 lh, thanks mainly to increase in the coverage of greengram (moong) and blackgram (urad). Moong crop sowing has risen to 16.55 lh from 13.42 lh, while urad was reported at 3.07 lh from 2.65 lh. The key growers of summer pulses are Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

Rise in horticulture area, yield

Cultivated on a normal area of 21.65 lh, summer pulses play a key role in augmenting availability, particularly whenever there is a drop in pulses production during kharif and rabi seasons.

Oilseeds acreage is marginally higher at 9.23 lh from 8.83 lh year-ago. Groundnut acreage has reached 4.31 lh from 4.11 lh, but sesamum at 4.49 lh from 4.33 lh and sunflower at 0.36 lh from 0.31 lh.

When officials of the National Horticulture Board told the minister at the review meeting that the area under horticulture has increased and the yield is also good, Chouhan asked them to make efforts so that consumers get the produce at cheaper rates and farmers also receive better price. When he was told that due to good tomato crop, its prices have come down, the minister asked officials to provide relief to the farmers.

Published on April 29, 2025