In spite of delayed rains, harvesting of kharif crop on schedule: govt

New Delhi: Despite delayed rains, harvestingof paddy and other kharif (summer) crops has kick started ontime in various parts of the country and the arrivals are expected to pick up in the coming weeks, a senior government official said today.

“Harvesting is on time in most places even as sowing operations in some parts got delayed due to late arrival of monsoon,” Agriculture Commissioner J S Sandhu told PTI.

Normally harvesting of kharif crops begin from end of September till November. “The pace will pick up in the coming weeks,” he added.

The Agriculture Commissioner said that farmers in Punjab and Haryana have started harvesting early sown basmati rice varieties cultivated under irrigation, while paddy – the key kharif crop – will begin in next few days.

Bajra and maize harvesting has started in Rajasthan, while soyabean in Madhya Pradesh, he added.

In its initial estimate, the government has pegged kharif foodgrain production to decline to 120.27 million tonnes (MT) this year from 129.24 MT in the year-ago.

Kharif crop production is expected to fall as area sown to kharif crops in the 2014-15 crop year (July-June) has declined due to delayed monsoon. The yields have also been impacted due to erratic rains and dry spells in several parts of the country.

PTI