The total kharif crop acreage in UP now stands at more than 9 Mn Ha, including 6 Mn Ha of paddy and 1.7 Mn Ha of pulses
Lucknow: Bountiful rainfall in arid Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh has not only ended the drought spell of previous years but has also translated into the kharif acreage rising by almost 50,000 hectares this year.
The area under different kharif (summer) crops across 7 Bundelkhand districts has been estimated at almost 1.1 million hectares (MH) in 2018 compared to 1.05 MH in 2017, thus rising by 5 per cent, owing to a good monsoon and government’s sustained efforts to increase acreage.
Bundelkhand comprises Lalitpur, Jhansi, Jaluan, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Banda and Chitrakoot districts. The adjacent districts of Madhya Pradesh also constitute the larger Bundelkhand region.
While the region had been witnessing rain deficits over the past couple of years, Bundelkhand received a good amount of downpour this season, which even resulted in flood situations in areas such as Mahoba and Jhansi. Jhansi, for instance, has received 1,578 mm of rainfall, almost double compared to the normal downpour of 822 mm during the entire monsoon season stretching from June to October. With a couple of weeks more to go before monsoon finally retreats, the region could witness more rainfall, thus increasing the rainfall table further.
UP agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi told Business Standard that ample rainfall had provided relief to farmers. However, the state government was ready with its contingency plan to counter any drought, since rains had been weak at the beginning of the season before gaining strength in late July and August.
“Bundelkhand has witnessed higher acreage in pulses, including moong and urad, apart from groundnut and millets, such as jowar and bajra,” Shahi added.
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