New Delhi: The total area sown under kharif crops in the current season across the country is estimated at 1,086.31 lakh hectares as September 4 this year, compared with the corresponding figure of 1,104 lakh hectares in the same period last year, data released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Tuesday showed.
The official figures show that the area under rice is 421.82 lakh hectares this year, compared with 438.19 lakh hectares during the same period last year. The decline in the area sown is attributed to the deficient monsoon this year following the adverse impact of the El Nino weather pattern. Overall, the decline in rice area coverage is mainly attributable to substantial reductions in Karnataka, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra.
The area under pulses such as urad and moong has gone up to 117.13 lakh hectares, which represents a 1.83 lakh hectares increase over the corresponding figure of 115.30 lakh hectares during the same period last year, as the crop requires less water. The increase in pulses area coverage is mainly attributable to substantial gains in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, which more than offset the declines reported in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Odisha.
The area covered under coarse cereals or millets such as jowar, bajra, and ragi has been estimated at 181.39 lakh hectares during the current season, which has fallen from 182.48 lakh hectares in the same period of the previous year. The decline in area coverage is mainly attributable to substantial reductions in Karnataka and Maharashtra, along with declines in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, which have more than offset the gains recorded in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand.
The area under oilseeds has been reported at 191.99 lakh hectares as compared to 193.06 lakh hectares during the corresponding period of last year, showing a decrease of 1.07 lakh ha. Overall, the decline in oilseed area coverage is mainly attributable to substantial reductions in Rajasthan and Gujarat, which have more than offset the gains recorded in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
The area under sugarcane, which is an annual crop sown earlier, touched 58.47 lakh hectares so far compared to the corresponding figure of 58.87 lakh hectares for the same period of the previous year. Overall, the decline in sugarcane area coverage is mainly attributable to substantial reductions in Bihar and Uttarakhand, which have more than offset the gains recorded in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
The area sown under cotton during the current kharif season has been estimated at 109.17 lakh hectares compared with 109.87 lakh hectares sown in the previous year. The decline in cotton area coverage is mainly attributable to substantial reductions in Rajasthan and Haryana, followed by declines in Punjab, which have more than offset the gains recorded in Telangana and Gujarat.
The area under jute & mesta is reported at 6.34 lakh hectares as compared to 6.24 lakh hectares during the corresponding period of last year, showing an increase of 0.10 lakh hectares. Overall, the increase in jute & mesta area is mainly attributable to higher coverage in Bihar and West Bengal, which have more than offset the decline reported in Assam and Andhra Pradesh.