Heavy rains notwithstanding in several paddy producing districts of West Bengal, production is expected to be better than last year. Heavy showers had flushed away paddy seeds from most of the agricultural land in south Bengal districts of Burdwan, Hooghly, Nadia, Purulia, east Midnapore and west Midnapore. The districts of Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Uttar Dinajpur and Malda in north Bengal too were amongst the worst affected. Cultivation of ‘aman the second crop of the kharif season usually sown in June or July and harvested in winter affected to some extent. The seeds were washed away due to heavy rains. Fresh supplies were given by the State covering the entire 42 lakh hectares of land under aman cultivation. The production is likely to be better this year. West Bengal produces about 15-16 million tonnes of paddy each year across the three seasons; that include aus, aman and boro. The kharif paddy (aus and aman) output accounts for about 70 per cent of the total production in the State. Heavy rains during the aman season often results in good boro or winter crop. Though there could be some marginal impact on the crop in the districts of north Bengal, the crop standing in south Bengal looks good. In fact, production across south Bengal should be better than last year.