A normal monsoon boosted gross value added (GVA) in the farm and allied sector in Q4 last fiscal

At a time when Covid-19 has slowed down the pace of the economy, a normal monsoon with fairly good dispersion works in the favor of the agricultural sector and rural economy.

Farmers are also being aided by several reforms aimed at improving their market access and bargaining strength, says a report by The Financial Express.

The report pointed out that Punjab has received rainfall 13 percent below average so far this season and has been able to acquit itself well as it is 100 percent irrigated and sowing figures of key crops — paddy, cotton, and maize are at par with the year-ago level, at around 35 lakh hectares.

The Financial Express further said 45% surplus rains in Telangana have boosted the cotton acreage in the state to a record high of 23.5 lakh hectare, up by 37 percent from year-ago.

The overall cotton sowing across the country increased by 3.2% to 125.5 lakh hectares as per the report.

It further mentioned that groundnut sowing in Gujarat has increased by 34 percent to 20.5 lakh hectare against last year as the main growing belt of Saurashtra along with Kutch region has received 77 percent above normal rains, so far

The report said that the sowing coverage under all the major Kharif crops in Rajasthan such as jowar, bajra, moong, and groundnut is up from the previous year levels.

About paddy sowing, the report mentioned that it has been up by 14 percent at 352 lakh hectare as of August 14 pan-India, and is progressing well.

Karnataka has reported 20 percent above normal rainfall and the on-going sowing area under maize, ragi, jowar, tur, and sugarcane increased by 11.5 percent at 32.2 lakh hectare till last week as per the report.

The report said that a normal monsoon boosted gross value added (GVA) in the farm–and allied sector in Q4 last fiscal, as it emerged the second-fastest-growing segment with 5.9 percent expansion, an eight-quarter high.