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India's food production in the kharif (summer) season will see a shortfall of 7 per cent due to a below-normal monsoon, according to figures released by the government on Friday.  Kharif crops are usually sown with the beginning of the first rains in July, during the south-west monsoon season and are totally dependent on the quantity of rain water as well its timing.
But the overall situation will not be as bad as it was in the drought year of 2009. The government said 7 per cent was a "conservative" estimate and India may eventually produce enough grain to meet demand. "The situation is not as bad as we had expected it in May when the new government took charge," said union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh, allaying fears of a drought. Releasing the first advance estimate of major Kharif crops for 2014-15, Singh said, "It may be noted that coverage in sowing is only 3 per cent short of the five-year average. With the improved rainfall [in August and September]), it is estimated that kharif foodgrain production will be approximately 120 million tonnes." Grain output was 129.24 MT in the kharif season of the 2013-14 crop year (July-June). The output is estimated to fall short by about 9 MT due to a likely drop in rice production by 3.7 MT, coarse cereals by 4.5 MT and pulses by nearly a million tonnes. Allaying concerns over the estimate, agriculture secretary Ashish Bahuguna said, "These are preliminary estimates and do not take into account the positive impact of the rainfall of September. Also, as per past experience, the first advance estimates are generally conservative and subsequently undergo upward revision." Singh also emphasised that there was no need to be alarmist. He said the government would try to achieve last year's level despite the adverse weather situation that has resulted in drought and floods in some parts of the country. The agriculture minister, on the occasion, also enlisted details of initiatives taken\planned by his ministry in the 100 days of the new government. Asked about the rising number of farmer suicides in the sugarcane belt of Uttar Pradesh, Singh said it was because of the wrong policies of the previous government. "This is quite unfortunate. We are paying the price of someone's misdeeds. We will, however, make efforts to boost farmers' income and agriculture growth," he said. He did not however specify what the ''wrong policies'' of the previous government were. On financial assistance to states due to drought, the minister said that only Haryana has so far declared a drought. "We are in the process of providing assistance to the state. Though we have read about Uttar Pradesh having declared drought in certain districts, we have not yet received a formal notification. Once we get a formal request, the central government will provide assistance", he added.
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