India’s monsoon rains are likely to pick up by mid-June, the chief of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) told Reuters on Wednesday, spurring the sowing of crucial crops such as rice, corn, cotton, soybean, sugarcane and peanuts.

“As per our extended range forecast, rainfall activity is likely to increase by June 15,” Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of the IMD, said. “That spell of rainfall is likely to cover central India and the northern plains.”

The monsoon arrived in Kerala on May 29, two days ahead of the usual time. But since June 1, when the four-month monsoon season began, rains are 42% below average. At this stage, the progress of the monsoon, especially over central and northwestern India, is crucial for the planting of an array of key crops.

India relies on monsoon rains to water almost half its farmland.