India’s paddy, pulses and sugarcane cultivation surges as monsoon gushes after a sombre start

New Delhi: India’s farmers have sown significantly more crops such as paddy, pulses, and sugarcane this monsoon season, raising hopes that this could soften food prices that have remained stubbornly high.

The area under cultivation of kharif, or monsoon, crops so far in 2024-25 has increased significantly, with 94.13% of the total average sown area now covered, reaching about 103.16 million hectares, show agriculture ministry data released on Tuesday. 

The ministry attributed the rise in the sowing area to better distribution of monsoon rains across the country.

The combined sown area of key crops such as paddy, pulses, oilseeds, sugarcane, and cotton is up by 2.08% year-on-year, the data show.

This largely alleviates concerns about a surge in food inflation, which has remained more persistent than the headline inflation in recent months. India’s Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) escalated to 8.9% in the June quarter after averaging at 7.5% in 2023-24.

The area under cultivation of paddy or rice, India’s main kharif crop, increased substantially by 19.57% year-on-year, totaling 36.9 million hectares. This rise in paddy cultivation is encouraging, given the crop’s importance to food security and its role in the diet of millions of Indians.

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Pulses, another crucial component of India’s agricultural landscape, also experienced a notable surge. The acreage for pulses grew by 6.48% to about 12.02 million hectares, according to the agriculture ministry data. 

Tur (Arhar) alone accounted for 4.59 million hectares. The pulse varieties include tur, urad, and moong–all staples in Indian kitchens.

The expansion in pulses cultivation is particularly significant in light of the government’s efforts to boost the production of protein-rich crops to meet domestic demand.

“The increase in kharif sowing area is a promising indicator of the sector’s resilience and adaptability,” said K.J. Ramesh, former director general of the India Meteorological Department, the country’s main weather forecaster. “The expansion in key crop areas like paddy, pulses, and oilseeds highlights the efforts of the agricultural ministry and the predictions by the national forecaster, the India Meteorological Department.”

After an uneven start to this year’s monsoon, rains have poured across several parts of the country this month, alleviating fears of deficient showers. But distribution of monsoon rains had remained a worry.

More millets and edible oils

The area under oilseeds, however, remained unchanged with a marginal increase of 1.64% to about 18.7 million hectares. With this, the sowing of oilseeds has completed 98.21% of the average sown area.

This increase is likely to enhance the production of edible oils, reducing the dependence on imports and supporting the domestic industry.

Another big positive is that the area for sowing of millets or coarse grains increased 4.72% year-on-year to about 18.7 million hectares as of 16 August. This signals a boost for the sector, especially since 2023 was observed as the International Year of Millets. 

Millets are known for their nutritional value and resilience to adverse climatic conditions.

Groundnut sowing area remained stable at 4.6 million hectares till 16 August, while soybean has seen a marginal rise in sowing area from about 12.4 million hectares in 2023 to about 12.5 million hectares so far in 2024. Sowing of sunflowers has increased from about 65,000 hectares in 2023 to 70,000 hectares in 2024.

India’s kharif sowing activities will continue till the end of September.