Hyderabad: Monsoon rain in the country was
24 per cent below normal as of last week with maximum deficit
of 44 per cent in the north-west region but a top Agriculture
scientist said today the situation is not alarming.
"The cumulative seasonal rainfall over the country in
June is 43 per cent below normal. Subsequently the situation
has improved, particularly in southern and central India, and
as on July 16, the overall deficit in the country is 24 per
cent below normal with maximum deficit of 44 per cent in north
west India," B Venkateswarlu, Director of the Central Research
Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) told reporters.
Venkateswarlu said the situation is not alarming as more
rain is expected in the coming days and that there is a
"window for planning crops".
As of now, states like Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and
Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and some parts of
Andhra Pradesh have recorded deficit rainfall, he said.
He said the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR)
grid, consisting of Institutes of ICAR, and 25 state
agriculture universities, have developed contingency
cropping strategies for various states for delayed monsoon.
There is a delay by 2-3 weeks in Kharif sowings in
several parts of the country due to weak monsoon, he said,
adding the latest available statistics indicate that 307 lakh
hectares of area has been sown in 2009 as against 411.5 lakh
hectares in 2008 as on July 10, Venkateswarlu said.
Subsequently, the situation has considerably improved
and sowing and transplantation of paddy are in progress in
many states, he added.
Bureau Report
