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Informist, Wednesday, Jun. 17, 2026

 

By Shreya Shetty

 

MUMBAI – Gujarat stands as an anomaly in the ongoing kharif season in India, with higher acreage year-on-year despite the delayed onset of the monsoon. While kharif sowing in most parts of the country has slowed down due to the absence of monsoon rainfall, the availability of irrigation facilities such as check dams, and higher price incentives have increased groundnut and cotton acreage in Gujarat, pushing up the overall acreage in the state, according to experts and market participants.

 

Farmers in Gujarat have sown kharif crops across 427,152 hectares as of Monday, up more than 25% from 341,188 hectares a year ago, according to a release by the state agriculture department. The area under kharif crops across India as of Friday was down nearly 4% from a year ago at 8.46 million hectares, according to data from the agriculture ministry.

 

The area under groundnut and cotton accounts for 32% and 56% of the total kharif acreage so far in Gujarat, respectively. As of Monday, groundnut acreage in Gujarat rose to 136,541 hectares from 122,471 hectares a year ago, while the area under cotton was 239,485 hectares, up from 187,681 hectares a year ago.

 

"In Gujarat, in the case of groundnut, it is grown in Saurashtra, and the region has a lot of dams, there is water in the reservoirs. It is the same for cotton as well," said G. Chandrashekhar, a commodity expert and policy commentator. The construction of several check dams in Saurashtra, which has a history of deficient rainfall, has provided substantial irrigation for crops in the region, aiding acreage, he said.

 

A check dam is a small dam constructed across a swale, drainage ditch, or waterway to counteract erosion by reducing water flow velocity. According to various studies, check dams were constructed in Saurashtra primarily between 1999 and 2005, driven by severe regional droughts, falling water tables, and community-led water conservation initiatives. Since Saurashtra's rivers typically dry up after the monsoon, the region suffers from a severe water table deficit. Check dams were built to slow water flow, allowing water to percolate into the ground and recharge local aquifers.

 

Gujarat, primarily Saurashtra, also recorded significant rainfall till November last year, which replenished soil moisture in the region, enabling farmers to sow crops without having to wait for the monsoon to begin, Chandrashekhar said.

 

Last year, during the southwest monsoon, which spans from June to September, Saurashtra received 707.2 millimetres of rainfall, 31?ove the normal, data from the India Meteorological Department showed. During the northeast monsoon the same year, which is from October to December, it received 100.9 millimetres of rain, 253?ove the normal for the period, according to the data.

 

As of Wednesday, the water level in dams of Gujarat was over 48% of their live storage capacity, up from nearly 44% a year ago, according to data from the state water resource department.

 

Groundnut and cotton are also less water-intensive crops, which makes them more reliable to grow in drought-prone regions or during seasons with deficient rainfall, market participants said.

 

Cotton acreage in Gujarat also got a head start, as it is typically among the first crops to be planted during the kharif season, said Rahul Chauhan, director of IGrain India, an agri-commodity research centre. "They (farmers) always have to plant cotton early because late sowing leads to lower productivity due to pests and infestations," he said.

 

Cotton sowing begins earlier than most other kharif crops in India, with optimal planting typically starting in April and May, well before the arrival of the southwest monsoon. Late-planted cotton matures outside the normal seasonal window, leaving it highly vulnerable to late-season pests.

 

Higher prices of both groundnut and cotton have also incentivised farmers in Gujarat to plant more of these crops, Chauhan said.

 

The government has hiked the minimum support price of both crops for the kharif marketing season 2026-27 (Oct-Sept). The minimum support price of medium-staple cotton has been increased 7.2% to INR 8,267 per 100 kg, and that of long-staple cotton by 6.8% to INR 8,667 per 100 kg. For groundnut, the government hiked the minimum support price to INR 7,517 per 100 kg from INR 7,263 per 100 kg.

 

"An INR 557 hike in the minimum support price and continued procurement support are also encouraging farmers to shift to cotton. Last year, cotton was cultivated across 11.48 million hectares," Kedia Advisory said in a report last week.

 

Spot market prices of groundnut have risen from the previous year, with the average price in June at INR 7,308 per 100 kg, higher than INR 5,399 per 100 kg in June last year, according to data from the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

 

However, experts warned that the progress of kharif acreage could go through changes in the weeks ahead as the monsoon is yet to hit the state. ".. This is only the initial sowing period. There could be changes to everything going ahead," Chauhan said.

 

"Only after two weeks will we get to know whether Gujarat will be able to maintain the pace they have currently, because water in dams will decrease if monsoon doesn't advance over the state," Chandrashekhar said.

 

The southwest monsoon normally arrives over south coastal Gujarat on Jun. 15 and covers the state by Jun. 20. This year, the monsoon trough, which hit Kerala on Jun. 4, lost steam as it advanced northwards over the country. While the trough has continued to inch over the eastern parts of India, it came to a halt over the western parts on Jun. 8 after advancing over and covering Goa. Currently, the western arm of the trough passes through Harnai and Solapur in Maharashtra.

 

During Jun. 1–16, Gujarat recorded 6.2 millimetres of rainfall, 82?low the normal for the period, data from the weather department showed.

 

According to private weather forecasting agency Skymet, onset of the monsoon over Gujarat is likely to be delayed further to the last week of June.  End

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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