-Hindustan Times Planting of key kharif or summer-sown crops, which account for half of the country’s annual food output, was 1.5% lower on August 26 compared to last year, according to farm ministry data India’s food output is likely to fall after six straight record harvests, as extreme weather dented sowing of crops, such as rice and pulses, raising concerns about inflation and tight supplies, data from the farm ministry indicates. Planting of...

-Down to Earth Lowest amount of rainfall in the last decade; climate change to blame, says Met Paddy cultivation in Jharkhand this Kharif season has taken a huge hit, with most farmers expecting a meagre yield. Monsoon 2022 saw a massive deficit in rainfall — the lowest in the last 10 years.  “I doubt I can harvest even a kilogramme of yield this year,” Mahendra Prasad told Down To Earth. The farmer in...

-Livemint.com An uneven distribution of rainfall has left several key rice-producing states parched even as others had to battle excess water The patchy progress of the southwest monsoon this year has cast a long shadow on India’s kharif crop produce, particularly of rice, which is an important constituent of the government’s food distribution programmes. The threat comes right after wheat production in the rabi season took a hit from heatwaves and at...

-The Telegraph While the BJP and Opposition continue with their political machinations, the larger issues on the ground are these: climatic aberrations and consequent losses How are we supposed to deal with long, dry spells as well as sudden and extreme rainfall in the same season? Or drought in one state and floods in another,for that matter? While the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition continue with their political machinations, the larger...

-The Hindu Business Line Wheat stocks already low due to low production, concerns mounting about dip in paddy sowing Rice and wheat stock in the Central Pool, managed by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), is at a five-year low, mainly due to lower procurement of wheat. Rice stock, though above 2020 level, may deplete fast in case there is a drop in production during current kharif season as paddy transplanting has...