AGRICULTURAL IMPACT- Monsoon failure...!!

India experiences twin monsoon failure, first time in 10 years

By: Harish Damodaran | New Delhi | January 3, 2015 8:19 am

For the first time in a decade, India has experienced deficient rainfall in both the main south-west as well as the north-east monsoon seasons.
According to data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the country as a whole received an average rainfall of 85.2 mm during October 1 to December 31, 33 per cent below the “normal” long period average of 127.2 mm for this period.

That translated into a deficient north-east monsoon, which follows the main south-west monsoon season from June 1 to September 30. The latter had registered an overall rainfall deficit of 12.3 per cent, thereby amounting to a deficient monsoon. Any shortfall above 10 per cent at all-India level is termed as “deficient”.

This is the first time since 2004 that rainfall deficiency has been recorded in both south-west and north-east monsoon seasons.

In 2009, the south-west monsoon had totally failed with an almost 23 per cent nationwide deficit. It was, nevertheless, partly compensated by a surplus north-east monsoon. This time round, even that has not happened.

While the north-east monsoon is important for the southern states — particularly Tamil Nadu, which gets less rain from the south-west monsoon — in other parts, it helps to partially make up for any lack of precipitation in the main monsoon season.

India’s kharif harvest suffered a setback due to a deficient regular monsoon. It was hoped that this would be somewhat offset by a better rabi crop that is normally sown from November. But since even the north-east monsoon turned out to be poor, rabi crop plantings have also got affected, raising the possibility of India’s farm sector posting negative growth for 2014-15 — the first time in five years.

According to the Agriculture Ministry, farmers have so far sown 293.16 lakh hectares (lh) area under wheat this time, compared to 294.30 lh during the same period of 2013-14. There have been acreage drops even for gram or chana  (79.65 lh versus 95.03 lh), rapeseed-mustard (64.24 versus 68.04), jowar (30.59 versus 35.91), lentil or masur (14.79 versus 15.01), and maize (12.22 versus 12.63).

The heartening news, however, is that there has been good rainfall in the past couple of days, including in Madhya Pradesh, the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which were facing extended moisture stress.

“These have been real life-saving showers for the crop already planted. They are most timely, given that the wheat crop is now in the tillering stage, while in mustard, flowering initiation has begun,” said J S Sandhu, Agriculture Commissioner at the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation.

Sushil Kumar Yadav, a farmer from Rajoula village in Amarwara tehsil of Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh, said the dry weather through November and December was a major source of worry. “But the Naya Saal  (New Year) has brought cheer. The rain in the last two days have ensured I don’t need to give any irrigation to my wheat for the next 20 days,” he said.

http://www.financialexpress.com/article/economy/india-experiences-twin-monsoon-failure-first-time-in-10-years/25588/