Big impact of deficient monsoon

This has been among the worst monsoons in 35 years. Kharif will be hit. Rabi preparation becomes vital

The India Meteorological Department's (IMD) prediction for the South-West Monsoon (SWM) this year turned out to be remarkably correct. Since a 15 per cent deficient monsoon compared to the Long Period Average (LPA) was severe (experienced only twice times during the last 35 years) and almost all the leading agricultural States experienced a deficit substantially higher than the national average, there is an urgent need to assess the impact of this deficient monsoon on the agricultural front.

As per the IMD data, the country received a total rainfall of 699.6 mm from SWM as of September 19, which is much less than the normal level of 822 mm. Further, 48 per cent of the total 734 districts across the country received deficient rainfall (less than 20 of normal). This wide geographic coverage indicates that moisture stress is not restricted to a few isolated pockets, but spans major agricultural regions (see Figure 1).