Informist, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025

By Shreya Shetty

MUMBAI – With incessant rainfall battering most parts of Maharashtra since last week, farmers in the state have started reporting crop losses. Though the extent of damage to standing crops is still being evaluated--with many parts of the state still receiving heavy showers--the loss is unlikely to be huge, analysts and traders said.

After a lull, the spread and intensity of rainfall over the state increased from Aug. 14 with the formation of a low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal. The weather system intensified into a depression and moved inland Monday, strengthening the monsoon westerlies along the Konkan coast and pulling them inland. The shifting of the monsoon trough also gave rise to several cyclonic circulations, a few of which were centred over the state's hinterland, the India Meteorological Department said.

While the Konkan coast has recorded staggered rainfall all throughout the current southwest monsoon season, interior regions of Maharashtra such as Marathwada, central Maharashtra, and Vidarbha had received deficient rainfall. Till Aug. 13, rainfall was 7% below normal in central Maharashtra, 23% below normal in Marathwada, and 6% below normal in Vidarbha, data from the weather department showed.

Under the influence of multiple weather systems, the state began receiving continuous rainfall the past week, making up for the shortfall in all three regions. As of Wednesday, rainfall was 6% above normal in central Maharashtra, 5% above normal in Marathwada, and 6% above normal in Vidarbha, according to the weather department. From Jun. 1-Aug. 20, Maharashtra has received 775.4 millimetres of rainfall, which is 7% above the normal of 724.1 millimetres, according to the department.

According to some media reports, farmers in Maharashtra have suffered major losses with the recent heavy rains having caused widespread damage to key kharif crops. Analysts and traders, however, disagree. The rise in intensity of rainfall did not affect any kharif sowing as most of it had been wrapped up in the state, they said. While some standing crops were affected as fields quickly filled up with rainwater, the damage is unlikely to be worrisome, and is par for the course in the season, they said.

"Some losses have been observed in parts of Maharashtra such as Marathwada, Nanded, and Beed, where water levels have surged to 1 metre in fields," said Satish Upadhyay, secretary, India Pulses and Grains Association. "However, the losses are restricted to lower areas and fields on riverbanks, where water easily fills up."

"There are no major kharif crop losses in Maharashtra," said Ankit Kedia, a trader from Akola. "If anything has been damaged, it is in a few areas touching water bodies such as rivers, which have overflowed and flooded the fields. The news about huge damage is being spread only because market participants want to raise prices."

Upadhyay said there were some losses in urad and moong, which were on the verge of being harvested. "There is not as much damage in tur crops," he said. "Tur and cotton are long-term crops, they also grow very tall. They are less prone to damage than other crops."

Upadhyay characterised rain damage in urad as an "usual story". He explained that the legume is a sensitive crop that gets easily damaged and so losses are reported every year. "These are usual damages and will not affect overall production by a lot," he said.

As of Monday, the area under kharif crops in Maharashtra was 14.35 million hectares, down 1% on year, according to the state agriculture department. The total acreage under grains was up over 7% on year while area under pulses was down nearly 2% and area under oilseeds nearly 3% from last year. Cotton acreage in the state was down 6% on year at 3.83 million hectares while area under sugarcane was up 20% on year at 213,571 hectares. Maharashtra is among the country's top producers of maize, jowar, tur, urad, moong, soybean, sugarcane, and cotton.

"There is damage every time (every season)," said Rahul Chauhan, president, IGrain. "Many traders will benefit by saying there are huge damages, but we need to wait and watch."

Though the intensity of rainfall had reduced over the Konkan coast as of Wednesday, heavy rainfall is likely to continue in the interior regions of Maharashtra over the next three days, the weather department said. The extent of crop damage in the state will only be evaluated thoroughly once there is a break in the wet spell, analysts and traders said.

"The damage is still under observation," Chauhan said. "It is hard to pinpoint the damage just as the rainfall is decreasing, it takes time to assess it."

"There is some (crop) damage, but we cannot say to what extent," said Rahul Srinivas, a trader in Solapur. "We will have to wait for another 15–20 days to assess the situation, once we get good amount of sunlight."

"There is no need to panic," Upadhyay said. "There will only be cause for worry if such heavy rainfall continues over the state for the next few weeks as well." End

Edited by Rajeev Pai

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