Early Monsoon in India, a Blessing in Disguise for Agriculture

Bangalore: India has witnessed the earliest ever monsoon in 52 years this June, ahead of the normal schedule date of July 15. Though the early monsoon rains take a toll on human lives in some parts of the country, this rain will prove beneficial to the 235 million famers in India who are the world’s second-largest producers of cotton, rice and sugar cane, reported Swansy Afonso and Prabhudatta Mishra for Bloomberg News. The farmers depend heavily on rain for irrigating crops.

Since its arrival on June 1, monsoon rains have been recorded to be 48 percent, which is above a 50-year average according to the weather forecaster.

The untimely onset of monsoon showers is a blessing in disguise for the countrymen as it will ease the problem of drinking water shortage and alleviate a severe drought that put crops at risk especially in western parts of India.

Abundant harvesting will bring an end to the problem of high inflation and will successfully revive the economy of the country.

Though agriculture contributes for about a fifth of the country’s economy, 55 percent of the agricultural land does not have access to irrigation.