July is the most crucial month for farmers and it is expected that rainfall will pickup in coming weeks.

India is likely to get healthy summer crops or kharif crops this year with southwest monsoon continuing on a steady path. “With the monsoon now covering close to half of the country’s landmass, the sowing of summer crops has got off to a solid start,” a report said. So far, 92.6 million hectares area has been sown already, which is double-digit higher than area sown last year. In the third week of monsoon season, India has received above-normal precipitation, and the cumulative rainfall during the period 1st to 18th June was also 31% above the long period average (LPA), according to a report by Barcalys, promising a healthy start to summer sowing. India sows crops such as rice, pulses, coarse cereals, oil seeds, sugarcane and cotton in the kharif season. 

July is the most crucial month for farmers and it is expected that rainfall will pickup in coming weeks. “The geographical distribution also remains favourable, with all parts of north and central India receiving higher than normal precipitation,” the report added. Further, the current water levels in reservoirs are also higher than last year’s levels. As of 18 June, storage in 123 reservoirs stood at 54.1 BCM, which is 32% of storage capacity, according to the Central Water Commission (CWC). Nonetheless, the current level of storage is 183% of the year-earlier level and 169% of the average over the past 10 years. 

Meanwhile, ten regions have received large excess rainfall since 1 June. These sub-divisions include Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Saurashtra and Kutch, Konkan and Goa. On the other hand, six sub-divisions have also received deficient rainfall. This includes Pudu and Karaikal, Lakshadweep, West Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, among others. Regions which have received normal rainfall include Kerala and Mahe, Uttarakhand, Assam and Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh, among others.