India’s Kharif Crops Output May Be Lower, Winter Season Crops Also at Risk in Rainfed Areas

India’s kharif crops production is likely to be affected due to deficient rain in many parts of the country, besides untimely rainfall in some irrigated areas. Cultivation of rabi crops will likely be a problem in rainfed areas this year due to El Nino, the annual conference for rabi crops preparation was told on Monday.

However, despite deficient and excessive rainfall threatening the yields of some kharif crops, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan assured that overall sowing targets were met in spite of the risks posed by El Niño. India produced a record 176.04 million tonnes of foodgrains, including 124.76 million tonnes of rice, during the 2025 kharif season.

Addressing the annual Rabi conference, held to prepare for the winter crops, Chouhan said that authorities were concerned about the impact of El Niño, but congratulated the team for largely meeting the kharif sowing targets despite crops being affected in many places. Union Agriculture Secretary Atish Chandra echoed these concerns, stating that the kharif season was particularly challenging in rainfed areas where states struggled with crop coverage and survival.

Chandra also noted that all estimates project kharif crop production is most likely to be impacted downward due to deficient rains in some regions and heavy, untimely rains in others, even in irrigated zones. The Agriculture Ministry is expected to release the first production estimates for the 2026 kharif crops next month. Total acreage under all kharif crops as of September 18 stood at 1,103.90 lakh hectares (lh), down from 1,118.95 lh the previous year.

Commenting on drought conditions in two key agricultural states, Karnataka and Maharashtra, Chouhan stated a central team would visit Karnataka on October 3, followed by his own on-field assessment. For the 2026 kharif season, the government has fixed production targets including 123.15 million tonnes of rice, 8.41 million tonnes of pulses, and 31.04 million tonnes of maize, while planning ahead for the challenges of climate change in the upcoming rabi season.