New Delhi, September 25
With heavy rain lashing the northwest in the past couple of days, farmers across Punjab and Haryana have reported massive damage to their standing crops.
Yield to be affected
Waterlogging in fields due to rain may lead to higher moisture content in paddy
Higher moisture content will affect grain quality, resulting in lower remuneration
India’s rice output expected to dip by 6% to 104.99 MT
Stood at 111.76 MT in kharif season of 2021-22 crop year
Sowing of paddy, main kharif crop, also declined by nearly 19 lakh hectares this year
The Met Department said both states received heavy rainfall during the past 24 hours, which also resulted in a decline in temperature. Farmers in Punjab and Haryana rued that the untimely rain and strong winds had flattened their crops. Heavy rainfall and waterlogging in fields would lead to higher moisture content in paddy, affecting the quality of grain and resulting in lower remuneration, they feared. The paddy growers were hopeful of a good harvest this time. With rain playing the spoilsport, they are now demanding adequate compensation for the loss.
India’s rice production is expected to decline by 6 per cent to 104.99 million tonnes in the kharif season this year due to a fall in paddy acreage amidst rainfall deficit in key producing states like Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.
Rice production stood at 111.76 million tonnes in kharif season of 2021-22 crop year, according to the first advance estimates for kharif season of 2022-23 crop year (July-June). The sowing of paddy, the main kharif crop, also declined by nearly 19 lakh hectares to 399.03 lakh hectares compared to 417.93 lakh hectares in mid-September a year ago due to lack of rains earlier. The rains will remain subdued over the plains of the northwest and central India during the next five days, the IMD said.
