Damaged kharif crop, slow procurement leave farmers struggling to fund rabi sowing

Reena Kumari, a paddy farmer in Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun district, has harvested less than half her usual crop this season. But even the paddy she managed to save from October’s untimely rain and storms has yet to bring her much-needed income, as traders delay purchases.Traders are holding back purchases due to high prevailing market prices. (Representative file photo)Kumari, who cultivates paddy on around five acres, normally harvests about 25 quintals. This season, her produce has fallen to 10-12 quintals, she said. She estimates that cultivating the crop cost her ₹40,000-50,000.“We normally get around 20-25 quintals. This time, because of the rains and storms, the paddy crop fell over. The crop was standing in the fields in October when the storm hit,” she said.Traders are holding back purchases due to high prevailing market prices, which are hovering around ₹35-36 per kg for paddy, against the minimum support price (MSP) of ₹24.41 per kg, she said.Also Read: UP farmers may soon produce hydrogen to fuel transport: GadkariWith the next cropping season already underway, the delay in selling her harvest has created another problem.Her experience reflects the financial bind facing small farmers as weather-related disruptions to the kharif harvest coincide with preparations for the rabi season. A damaged crop means less produce to sell, while delays in procurement and private purchases further squeeze farmers’ cash flow.The slowdown also reflects in government procurement figures.Between October 1 and 28, government agencies, including the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies procuring on its behalf, bought 13 million tonnes of paddy, against 16.9 million tonnes during the corresponding period last year, a decline of nearly 23%.With the market anticipating a fall in kharif output, prices of several crops, including paddy, have remained above their MSPs.In Badaun, the modal price of common paddy was around ₹3,300 per quintal, or ₹33 per kg, on November 4, according to mandi price data sourced from Agmarknet.But higher prices are not necessarily translating into better price realisation for farmers. Buyers are delaying purchases in anticipation of prices easing as market arrivals increase, leaving farmers unable to immediately convert their produce into cash.“One of the key trends to watch is how disruptions to the kharif harvest are affecting farmers’ preparations for the rabi season. For smallholder farmers in particular, the two cycles are closely linked, as income from the kharif harvest often determines how quickly they can invest in the next crop,” said Anand Chandra, co-founder and chief operating officer of Arya.ag.Chandra said prices of three major kharif crops, soyabean, paddy and maize, were currently elevated, offering an opportunity for better price realisation. However, procurement offtake had been relatively slow as processors held back purchases in anticipation of prices easing when market arrivals peaked, he said.This means favourable market prices are not necessarily translating into immediate sales or liquidity for farmers.“Delayed harvesting can lead to shifts in commodity arrivals and create a shorter window for farmers to sell their produce and arrange funds for rabi inputs. We are also closely monitoring whether these pressures are changing farmers’ storage decisions and their demand for short-term credit against harvested produce,” Chandra said.The pressure comes as the winter sowing season gets underway. The total area sown under rabi crops in the country stood at 3.76 million hectares as of October 30, down from 6.90 million hectares during the corresponding period last year, according to data released by the Union agriculture ministry.Wheat sowing had covered just 19,000 hectares, compared with 334,000 hectares a year earlier. The area under mustard had reached 2.05 million hectares, against 3.81 million hectares last year.Uttar Pradesh, one of the country’s major mustard-producing states, had recorded rapeseed and mustard sowing over 1.04 million hectares by October 30, against 1.33 million hectares during the same period last year, according to data from the agriculture ministry’s UPAg portal.For Kumari, the squeeze is both agricultural and financial. Along with concerns over soil moisture following a deficient monsoon, high daytime temperatures and limited irrigation availability in some regions, she is struggling to arrange money for the next crop.“I do not have the money to buy wheat seeds until I sell what I have produced. I will not be able to make ends meet if I cannot sell my crop at the current price of ₹35 per kg,” she said.Also Read:Prolonged dry spell worries Himachal farmers amid rabi season“For smallholders, the concern is not simply a delayed sowing season, but the financial pressure created when one crop cycle begins before the previous one has generated sufficient income,” Chandra said.arrivals and create a shorter window for farmers to sell their produce and arrange funds for rabi inputs. We are also closely monitoring whether these pressures are changing farmers’ storage decisions and their demand for short-term credit against harvested produce,” Chandra said.The pressure comes as the winter sowing season gets underway. The total area sown under rabi crops in the country stood at 3.76 million hectares as of October 30, down 46% from 6.90 million hectares during the corresponding period last year, according to data released by the Union agriculture ministry.Wheat sowing had covered just 19,000 hectares, compared with 334,000 hectares a year earlier. The area under mustard had reached 2.05 million hectares, against 3.81 million hectares last year, a decline of about 46%.Uttar Pradesh, one of the country’s major mustard-producing states, had recorded rapeseed and mustard sowing over 1.04 million hectares by October 30, against 1.33 million hectares during the same period last year, a decline of 22%, according to data from the agriculture ministry’s UPAg portal.Also Read: Rabi crop procurement from March 20 in HaryanaFor Kumari, the squeeze is both agricultural and financial. Along with concerns over soil moisture following a deficient monsoon, high daytime temperatures and limited irrigation availability in some regions, she is struggling to arrange money for the next crop.“I do not have the money to buy wheat seeds until I sell what I have produced. I will not be able to make ends meet if I cannot sell my crop at the current price of ₹35 per kg,” she said.“For smallholders, the concern is not simply a delayed sowing season, but the financial pressure created when one crop cycle begins before the previous one has generated sufficient income,” Chandra said.