Farm sector growth slows on poor monsoon

India's farm sector growth slipped to 3.2 per cent in the second quarter of FY15 from five per cent during the year-ago period, with kharif foodgrains production falling by nine million tonnes, owing to below-normal monsoon. Agricultural growth during the April to June quarter was 3.5 per cent.

The southwest monsoon, which is the lifeline for millions of farmers across the country, was 40 per cent less than normal in the first 45 days of the four-month season, which started in June. However, it made a remarkable recovery and narrowed the shortfall to 11 per cent by the time the season ended in September.

According to the met office, 30 per cent of the country received less than normal rainfall. Four sub-divisions - Himachal Pradesh, west Uttar Pradesh, east Uttar Pradesh and Telangana - were deficient-to-scanty rain during all the four months of the season.

Rainfall in June was 57 per cent of the long period average (LPA), while it was 90 per cent in July and August, and 108 per cent in September. LPA is the average rainfall the country received in the past 50 years.

The highest impact of the uneven rains was in the final production of coarse cereals, oilseeds and pulses. However, with rains recovering late, there is a possibility of better harvest during the rabi season, whose sowing started from the middle of November.

"I feel a farm gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2014-15 is quite good given the fact that monsoon in the initial part of the season was bad. Though it is a drop from five per cent, which is mainly due to partial impact of low kharif production, it is much better than some of the previous low monsoon years," Ramesh Chand, director of the National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, told Business Standard.

He said for the full-year (FY15), agriculture growth is expected to be 2.5-3 per cent, against four per cent in 2013-14.