New Delhi: The country's agriculture minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has called for an urgent assessment of crop damage following torrential rains and hailstorms that have battered the northern, central, and western plains. The unseasonal weather has damaged harvest-ready wheat, rapeseed, and horticulture produce, putting a significant dent in farm incomes and output.
Farmers and producer groups from several food-bowl states have reported extensive damage to farmland, with squally weather disrupting harvesting operations and dislodging ripening crops. Crop losses could lead to inflationary pressures, amidst growing concerns over the impact of the West Asian conflict on Asia's third-largest economy.
The agriculture department has issued an alert for two more successive spells of western disturbances, a rain-bearing system originating in the Mediterranean, likely to hit northern states. Farmers have been advised to reach out to local agricultural extension offices for localized measures to protect their harvests.
Widespread hail struck parts of western Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra's Vidarbha and Marathawada regions, West Bengal, Odisha, and northern Karnataka overnight. Traders surveying markets to prepare for harvest arrivals next month said some areas have been hit hard, with wheat and mustard in many belts of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana affected.
The country has sown 33.4 million hectares of wheat this winter, up nearly 7% compared to the corresponding last season. However, the unseasonal rains and hailstorms have put a significant dent in the crop, with farmers in Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan reporting extensive damage.
