Paddy, pulses and oilseeds push kharif crop cultivation area to 979.89 hectares, an increase of 1.4%

New Delhi: The area under crop cultivation in the kharif season climbed to 979.89 lakh hectares – or 89.4% of the normal sown area – from 966.40 lakh hectares last year following better monsoon rains during the past fortnight.

The combined sown area of key kharif crops such as paddy, pulses, oilseeds, sugarcane and cotton is up 1.4% year-on-year, according to data from the agriculture ministry released on Monday.

Better sowing trends are expected to yield higher output and help ease concerns about rising food inflation. They also reflect the efforts and favourable conditions supporting farmers across the country.

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The area under paddy, or rice, the main kharif crop, increased 13.61% to 331.78 lakh hectares from 318.16 lakh hectares on 9 August 2023. This rise in paddy cultivation is encouraging due to the crop's importance in food security and its role in the diet of millions of Indians.

The acreage for pulses increased 7.35% to 117.43 lakh hectares. This represents 86.4% of the normal sown area compared with 110.08 lakh hectares last year, according to the data. The normal sown area of pulses is 136.02 lakh hectares.

Tur (arhar) alone accounted for 44.57 lakh hectares. Sowing of summer moong rose 2.9% as the area increased to 32.78 lakh hectares from 29.89 lakh hectares a year earlier. However, sowing of urad reduced marginally to 27.76 lakh hectares from 28.83 lakh hectares last year.

Pulse prices

Growth in the cultivation of pulses is significant given the country's efforts to boost production of the protein-rich crops to meet domestic demand.

A better sowing season for pulses could cause prices to fall significantly by early 2025, reducing food inflation and easing the burden on consumers, consumer affairs secretary Nidhi Khare said in a recent interview with Mint. The consumer affairs ministry expects the price of tur dal to drop 28% to ₹120 per kg by then from ₹167 per kg. 

The area under oilseeds grew 1.52%, reaching 183.69 lakh hectares from 182.17 lakh hectares. This is likely to enhance the production of edible oils, reducing dependence on imports and supporting the domestic industry.

The groundnut sowing area increased by 3.51% to 45.42 lakh hectares, while the area under soybean sowing increased to 124.69 lakh hectares from 122.89 lakh hectares, marking a growth of about 2%. Sunflower sowing area grew from 0.62 lakh hectares to 0.69 lakh hectares.

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The area under millets, or coarse grains, shrank 2% to 169.52 lakh hectares from 171.36 lakh hectares a year earlier.

According to the data, the sowing area for sugarcane remained stable at 57.68 lakh hectares. Cotton acreage contracted by 10.74% to 110.49 lakh hectares so far this kharif season against 121.24 lakh hectares last year.

Kharif sowing activities will continue till the end of September.

India imports edible oils and pulses to satisfy domestic demand. However, increased acreage for pulses and oilseed crops could result in a better harvest, provided weather conditions remain favourable until the harvest.

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