New Delhi, 08 July 2024 | ANN

Due to good monsoon so far, sowing of Kharif crops has picked up pace. According to the data released by Agriculture Ministry, the combined sown area has increased by 14.1 percent as compared to last year during this period and crossed 378 lakh hectare area.

There is above-normal monsoon rains in key growing states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Monsoon is currently in the active phase. India Meteorological Department has stated that out of 36, 21 subdivisions have received normal rainfall during this period and still seven states mostly in the east are in the deficient zone.

The area under paddy, the most important kharif crop, was up by 19 percent at 59.9 lakh hectares. The sowing area of pulses (55 percent) and oilseeds (54 percent) also increased.  Going by a five-year average, about 16 percent of paddy sowing has been completed so far. The kharif crops sowing will continue till the end of September.

Sugarcane sowing area has also increased and so far the total sown area is 56.8 lakh hectares, which is higher than normal sown area compared to the previous year. Cotton area is also up by 29 percent and is currently at 80.6 lakh hectares which is 62 percent of the average area for the last five years.

The agriculture ministry has set a target of record food grains production of 340 MT during the 2024-25 crop year (July-June), 3.4% higher than 328.8 MT estimated during the previous crop year. This includes 159.97 MT from the kharif season, 164 MT from the rabi season and 16.43 MT from the summer season.
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