Monsoon rains are expected to strengthen in July, aiding the sowing of kharif crops after a slow start to the season, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Wednesday.
The overall rainfall deficit narrowed to 24 per cent in July from 33 per cent in June, Chouhan told reporters after a high-level review meeting.
The number of rainfall-deficient districts fell to 178 from 262 as several parts of the country received good rain in recent days, he said.
The government is closely monitoring the situation in 13 states, including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal and Odisha, Chouhan said.
Total area planted with kharif crops was down 21 per cent at 35.085 million hectares as of now in the 2026 season, compared with 41.28 million hectares a year earlier, government data showed.
The delayed start of the monsoon has particularly hurt sowing of soybean and cotton, Chouhan said, adding that farmers have been advised to switch to short-duration, less water-intensive crops such as maize, pearl millet (bajra) and green gram (moong), to limit the impact.
The government has been preparing for a potential El Nino impact on the monsoon since April, Chouhan said.
Working with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, authorities drew up contingency plans for districts likely to be affected and shared them with state governments in advance, he said.
Under a “Khet Bachao Abhiyan” (Save the Farm campaign) held in June, more than 124,000 programmes were organised nationwide, reaching over 8 million farmers directly, according to the ministry.
To ensure uninterrupted planting, the government has maintained a national seed reserve of about 1,75,000 quintals, Chouhan said.
He added that a campaign to issue Kisan Credit Cards, which give farmers access to subsidised loans, has been stepped up, with more than 94,000 of the 114,000 applications received by June 30 approved.
Chouhan said efforts are also being intensified to boost farmer enrolment in the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana crop insurance scheme, which provides financial protection against losses from adverse weather.
An El Nino Monitoring Cell, a Crop Weather Watch Group, state-level control rooms and designated officers are tracking the progress of the monsoon, crop sowing, crop conditions and market trends, he said.
“The entire system has been activated in advance and is working proactively” to mitigate the impact of any monsoon-related challenges, Chouhan said, adding that the government is fully equipped to support farmers through the kharif season.
