Officials in the Indian state of Rajasthan have declared drought in five districts it emerged on Tuesday (14th August). The Indian parliament was informed in the morning that, in addition to drought conditions caused by below average monsoon activity in the country’s largest region, 142 talukas in Karnataka have also fallen into drought.

Rajasthan is India’s largest province by area, and is one of the country’s major agricultural regions, where wheat, barley, pulses and oilseeds are cultivated as well as much of the country’s wool. Karnataka, in the South-West, is also a significant agricultural region where a large amount of farming activity is dependent on monsoon conditions, as only around a quarter of farmland is irrigated.

Although Indian meteorologists had speculated last week that the rainfall deficit reported throughout last month was shrinking, and that monsoon rains which have so far been lacking were expected to materialise later this month, the country’s agriculture minister, Sharad Pawar, today announced, "So far, Karnataka and Rajasthan have declared drought in 142 out of the 176 taluks and in 5 out of 33 districts in the states, respectively."

Pawar said that India’s rainfall deficit currently stands at 16 per cent, with some areas worse affected than others. The weak monsoon has affected agricultural activity in the country. Last week, it was revealed that sowing of Kharif crops (those sown in Monsoon season and often dependent on monsoon weather) was over 5 million hectares behind schedule; 80.2 million hectares had been sown by 8th August.   

The news has worrying implications. Challenging weather conditions seen in some of the world’s major agricultural regions this season have led to spiralling world food prices and talk of a potential food crisis, which could rival that experienced in 2008.  

The agriculture minister said the government has introduced a number of schemes to address problems arising as a result of the weak monsoon.

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