Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: After one of the driest Junes in more than a century, the southwest monsoon has found its feet in July. Rainfall activity has picked up across large parts of the country in the first fortnight of the month, narrowing a cumulative shortfall that stood at roughly 20% below the long-period average as of July 6 — and, crucially, handing farmers a window to make up lost ground in the fields.
The recovery is uneven, as monsoons usually are. The India Meteorological Department expects July rainfall overall to stay a shade below 94% of the 280.4 mm long-period norm, with the deficit concentrated in the east and northeast even as the northwest and parts of the peninsula do better. But the direction of travel has turned, and that is what the sowing season needed.
A monsoon is a story told over four months, not four weeks. A dry June is a warning; a reviving July is the reply.
The catch-up work is under way at the district level. Agricultural scientists are steering farmers in rain-fed belts toward short-duration pulses, millets and oilseeds, urging them to follow the weather-based advisories of Krishi Vigyan Kendras and to lean on the Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s contingency plans where rains are still short, all while conserving soil moisture through mulching and careful tillage.
The constructive read is that India is built for exactly this kind of year. With reservoirs, buffer stocks and a dense advisory network, a timely revival can still turn a slow start into a full harvest — and the practical priority is to get the right seed, water-saving advice and short-cycle options into farmers’ hands while the sowing window stays open.
