Kharif crop area reaches 967 lakh hectares amid weak monsoon

Every year, when the rainy season called the monsoon comes to India, farmers plant their main crops, like rice.

This planting season is called kharif.

This year the rains were not enough, so farmers planted a little less than last year.

By August 7, farmers had planted about 967 lakh hectares — one lakh is one hundred thousand — compared with 985 lakh hectares by the same time last year.

The main reason is something called El Nino, a weather pattern that can make the monsoon weaker.

Rice fields got smaller because rice needs a lot of water.

Farmers planted almost the same amount of pulses, like moong and urad, because those crops need less water.

They also planted a little less millet and about the same amount of sugarcane.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare released these numbers.

Farmers are hoping the rains improve so their crops can grow well.