Kharif planting is seen picking up as the South West Monsoon, which hit the Kerala coast on May 30, advances over parts of the Peninsula and Konkan. Total kharif acreage, so far, is about a tenth higher than last year.
Transplantation of paddy has begun in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Paddy has been transplanted on about 3.49 lakh hectares, higher than last year’s levels and the normal area for the period. The Agriculture Ministry has targeted rice production at 108.5 million tonnes for 2017-18 against last year's 109.2 mt.
The area under pulses has also risen to about 1.39 lakh ha with Karnataka and Tamil Nadu accounting for a major part. Similarly, coarse cereals have registered an increase. Maize, which has been planted in over 53,000 hectares, accounts for half. Farmers have taken to coarse cereals such as jowar, bajra and maize in Karnataka and Haryana. Acreage under cotton has jumped around 30 per cent as farmers in Haryana, Punjab and Karnataka have increased the area on better prices. Sugarcane and oilseeds have also seen an increase, while jute and mesta are trailing from last year.