Weak Monsoon Affects Kharif Crops, Sowing Of Rice, Pulses Sees Sharp Drop

Sowing of key kharif crops across India is facing a sharp decline, a recent report by the central government shows, amid a deficit in monsoon in the country.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the total area sown with key kharif crops as of June 25, 2026, has declined by 53.74 lakh hectares, as compared to June 25, 2025.

This comes as India is faced with a monsoon crisis, with the weather office saying that rainfall across the country between June 1 and July 1 was 38 per cent below average. Normally, monsoon sets in on June 1 every year in India, starting with Kerala.

The report - "Progress of Area Coverage under Kharif Crops" - published by the agriculture ministry's department of statistics, shows the total area sown with Kharif crops stood at 236.46 lakh hectares as of June 25 last year. This year, it has gone down to 182.72 lakh hectares as of June 25.

The sharpest decline has been observed in oilseed crops. The total sown area for oilseeds fell from 36.41 lakh hectares on June 25, 2025, to 16.99 lakh hectares as of June 25, 2026. This is a decline of approximately 19.42 lakh hectares year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the total sown area for rice has decreased by 8.65 lakh hectares - from 34.41 lakh hectares on June 25, 2025, to 25.75 lakh hectares as of June 25, 2026, the agriculture ministry said.

Despite the Centre's push to farmers to boost self-reliance in the pulses sector by constantly increasing the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of these crops, monsoon has affected their sowing as well.

The report mentions that the area sown with pulses has also decreased by 6.53 lakh hectares as of June 25, 2026. The total sown area for various pulse crops stood at 21.46 lakh hectares on June 25, 2025, but dropped to 14.92 lakh hectares as of June 25, 2026.

The sown area for cotton has also dropped by 15.70 lakh hectares by June 25, 2026, compared to the previous year.

India Faces Weak Monsoon

The southwest monsoon has been weak in India this year, arriving in Kerala on June 4 as compared to the usual June 1 date. Its progress has also been sluggish since then, with northern and central India facing the most deficit.

However, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the conditions are going to turn favourable in the coming days, with monsoon expected to advance further into Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, parts of Punjab, and parts of Rajasthan.

A low-pressure area, expected to form over the northwest Bay of Bengal around July 3, is likely to keep monsoon active over central parts of the country for the next five to six days.

The weather department forecasts isolated instances of very heavy rainfall in the South Gujarat region and Konkan (July 2-5), coastal Karnataka (July 2), Madhya Maharashtra (July 2-5), and southwest Madhya Pradesh (July 3-4).